Although the weather was bitterly cold the annual Christmas derby between these closely linked clubs capped a splendid occasion at Cross in Hand last Saturday. The Heath field Vice Presidents with their guests from Uckfield enjoyed a sumptuous Christmas meal before the Club’s principal Sponsor WRIGHTSURE INSURANCE received their new pitch side banners from Heathfield President Mike de St Croix.

The game was as always keenly contested and the young Uckfield side not only shocked their opponents who remain unbeaten in the league but came away with great credit having defended bravely and having played some spirited rugby. They only needed one goal to snatch a victory which would have spoiled the carnival atmosphere for their hosts.

As is their custom Heathfield started slowly and conceded early penalties which were gratefully converted by Uckfield. With mistakes being made by both sides it seemed likely that Uckfield could hold their slender 6-0 lead until half time. But then as the final quarter of the half approached Heathfield struck twice with excellent tries. First Bryn Jones the Greenies inspirational skipper burst strongly through some flimsy Uckfiel tackling to score near the posts from some way out. The conversion was missed but soon after the Heathfield backs played some of the rugby that has marked their success this season and full back Thewlis completed a move from the three quarters to add a second try which Jones converted. These two tries turned out to be crucial and gave the home side a half time lead of 17-6.

Heathfeld`s supporters expected the score line to be doubled in the second half in their sides favour  Uckfield had other ideas and their smaller forwards competed ferociously while their backs always looked dangerous. Far from Heathfield drawing further ahead Uckfield scored the only try in the second half when their tight head prop found himself on the wing where he completed an excellent spell of play by his side to score a fine try. This try lifted the Uckfield team who continued to make life difficult for the favourites until the final minutes.

While the score in this match, which was played in the best of spirits, was a fair reflection on the game it must be said that Heathfield will need to tidy up aspects of their game after Christmas if they are going to take the Sussex League 1 title outright. An analysis of their games would show that they start slowly and concede too many penalties especially early in the game. They need to improve their place kicking and they need to be more ruthless when they are dominating. On Saturday they spent the majority of the second half in their opponents 22 without scoring and lost the ball in the act of scoring more than once. But no one is perfect and this is a very good and happy side, superbly coached and marvellously supported. They have already played some wonderful rugby and will continue to do so in 2008.

Report by Mike de St Croix

12/15/2007 12:07:20 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Baby Boars beat Hastings

The Boars went to Hastings for a top of the table clash full of apprehension and doubt yet returned elated and victorious. Much of the credit must go to the 6 young men from the Colts team who stepped up and out fought their much larger opponents. You know what to expect from a Hasting & Bexhill team. You get a committed hard working pack of large forwards with limited flair in the back division. This means you have to match them upfront or endure a match with very little possession.

The Boars arrived unable to field a legal front row so the scrums were uncontested from the start and a 10 point penalty ensued. Hastings opted to play into the wind and rain in the first half which added to the Boars need to score points. In very poor conditions there were plenty of mistakes and unforced errors from both sides but most of the play was taking place in the Hastings half as Burdett pinned the Blues down with some good kicking and some tricky runs. The Boars forwards were working well and Hastings found that their only effective weapon was the rolling maul. The Boars forwards worked to deny them that weapon by putting the runners down quickly.

Halfway through the first period a Burdett break created space on the right and a well timed pass put debutant Jake Donnebaer away for a score in the corner. This heartened the Boars and belief seemed to spread throughout the team. The only real drama in the rest of the half came when Hastings battered their way over the line and the referee awarded a try. This was overturned when it was politely pointed out that the line in question was the 5 metre line.  Unfortunately Burdett went off at this point to be replaced by Woods.

The second half began much as the first ended with the wind providing an advantage and Hastings pounding at the Boars defensive line. The arrival of Robertshaw at number 8 added a new vigour to the Boars as he put in crunching tackles and chased kicks.

Veteran scrum half Dave Rhodes began to run the show when the Boars were in possession and Hollingdale almost scored off a quickly taken tap penalty. Then from another Hollingdale burst up the right the Boars forwards retained the ball and Rhodes spun it into the path of Woods who timed his run beautifully to score between the posts. Woods converted the try to take the Boars to 12-0 on the pitch but only a slender 2 point lead after the uncontested penalty was added.

Hastings rumbled back and 10 minutes later had produced a 25 metre rolling maul to score near the posts. Crucially the kick was pushed wide but the Boars were still 3 points behind.

With 15 minutes to go a ball was won on the halfway line and spun left where Donnebaer and Huxter were up against a single defender. Huxter drew the defender before passing to Donnebaer who backed himself for pace and went on to score in the corner. The Boars were back in front with 15 minutes to go.

Hastings threw all they had at the Boars (and this seemed to include several 2nd team players who were available after their game had been called off) but this largely consisted of crash balls around the fringes and these were dealt with by some brave Boars defence plus some big clearances from Woods. The rain turned to sleet as the light faded but it was the Hastings hopes of winning the game that were ended when the referees whistle went and the Boars and their band of supporters who celebrated.

This was one of the sweetest victories ever tasted by the Boars and doing so with 6 youngsters (Bird, Cannella, Dorrill, Robertshaw, Donnebaer and Salmon) shows the strength in depth of the Heathfield & Waldron club and gives great hope for the future.

Every Boars player can hold their heads high but Man of the Match was Joe Cannella for a gutsy and dynamic performance in his first senior match.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, D. Bird, P. Hookway (S. Walker -60), J. Cannella, T. Rose, S. Dorrill (O. Robertshaw – 40), K. Lewis, T. Wates, D. Rhodes, B. Burdett (R. Woods – 35), S. Hollingdale (J. Henry – 75), L. Willis, K. Davies (Nick Huxter – 40), J. Donnebaer, J. Salmon

Match report by Mike MacLeod

12/3/2007 11:23:49 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

For the third week in a row Heathfield came from behind to maintain their unbeaten record in Sussex Division I with a fine disciplined performance.  With all three teams again winning on Saturday and all three at the top of their respective leagues, Heathfield is in excellent fettle at present.

Rugby at Seaford at this time of year is never a soft option and conditions were as bad as many experienced watchers could remember.  The day was dominated by the conditions and the home team had the benefit of the wind in the first half.  Their kicker was naturally familiar with these circumstances and his kicking style for penalties illustrated this knowledge, putting the ball high and letting the wind do the work.  His first effort from halfway was considered good by both touch-judges but the referee decided otherwise.  Seaford had five kickable penalties in this period but only succeeded with two.

As the first half evolved the Heathfield pack began to establish the required pattern of play, eschewing long passes and risky kicks.  The pack retained control of the ball for long periods, picking and driving forward.  On several occasions the visitors managed to work into the sea-end half of the pitch but each time a turnover resulted in a simple kick driving them back fifty or more yards.  The discipline and control displayed by the green pack in this period was impressive, reflecting the hard work in training.  One very impressive and extensive drive was spoiled near the Seaford try line by a moment of indiscipline by a green shirt.  Otherwise every member of the pack had a magnificent day and a similar standard of play in good conditions will pose problems for very good sides. One key factor was that scrum-half Will Christian  had his best game yet for Heathfield with a combative and creative performance.

There was little open play since handling was very difficult with a wet cold ball in a strong breeze with occasional heavy showers.  This meant that the breakdown, rucks and mauls were critical and inevitably the referee had a contentious day.   Heathfield have had their problems with referees but on this occasion it was probably the home team that coped less well since they received one yellow card in the first half and three in the second.  This was a reflection of the pressure that Heathfield were applying.

The score of 6-0 in favour of the home side at half time was generally considered satisfactory by the damp visiting supporters.  As expected, from the start of the second half most of the play was in the Seaford half but the home side never lacked in commitment and effort so there was no further score for nearly fifteen minutes.  At this point because of injury Mark Walker was replaced by Bob Fiford who made an impressive debut in a competitive match.  The loss of such a major player could have unsettled the team but instead pressure finally told and Matt Skinner scored a fine try after one of the few handling movements in the match.  The conversion by Bryn Jones put Heathfield ahead 6-7 and there were few further doubts about the result.

Given the yellow cards that were now handicapping the home team it was little surprise when Sam Thewlis touched down and then a penalty in front of the posts allowed Bryn Jones to establish a 6-15 scoreline.

The fly-half had been acting as an extension of the back row, making many hard yards around the breakdown with the centres Damien Pestell and Matt Skinner also closely involved and now Matt ripped the ball from a maul near the Seaford line to score his second in the match (6-20)

To their credit Seaford continued to contest fiercely and occasionally managed to break out to the windward end.  But Heathfield were now well on top and inevitably green counter-attacks led to tries by Dan Hunter-Evans (with an assist from Rob Lawrence) and Adam Tennant, one of which was converted (6-32).

Next Saturday (8^th December) Heathfield entertain East Grinstead in a Sussex Shield quarter final, kick off 1.45.  Given the closeness of the game between these two sides two weeks ago this could be a suitably seasonal cracker.

Report by Phil Bell.

Comment from Mike de St Croix, H&W President

This was one of Heathfield`s best performances since I have been at the club. Both sides and the referee deserve huge credit for playing the game at all in quite horrible conditions but the fact that Heathfield only conceded 6 points against the elements was an indication of their superiority.Their tactical play was superb and their ability to expand their game playing with the wind resulted in some powerful attacking rugby. This side is now looking as competent as the one who won Sussex League I with an unbeaten record almost ten years ago. They have some tough games ahead but if they maintain the concentration level they showed against Seaford they will continue to delight their supporters.

12/1/2007 8:55:27 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Boars beat local rivals

The Boars went to local rivals Eastbourne aware that anything but a win would badly dent their title hopes. They were greeted by a cold bright day and a strong wind that would play a large part in the outcome of the game.

The Boars were to face the wind in the first half and it was hoped that the game could be kept tight until half time. The main duty fell to the forwards as the kicking game was no a great option in the wind and they did well without dominating. Much of the game was played between the 22 metre lines as few line breaks were achieved against solid defences.
After about 20 minutes the Boars broke through when a penalty was taken quickly and the ball spun right for Hollingdale to break the last tackler and score in the corner. Eastbourne were stung by this and started to kick for field position more. This pressure told when Heathfield tried to force a backs move, the ball went to ground and a Eastbourne centre was on hand to pick up and sprint 30 metres for the score. Eastbourne tails went up at this point and they had 15 minutes were they almost won the game. Only stout defence and their own poor decision making kept them out.

So the Boars turn around level and now get the advantage of the strengthening wind. The second half saw most of the action in the Eastbourne half with good kicks from Burdett and Woods pinning the Eastbourne forwards back. The good field position allowed the Boars backs to play a more adventurous game and this paid dividends when Burdett started and finished a blindside move that saw him link well with Woods to score in the left hand corner.
Burdett might have had a second try shortly afterwards but an unsighted ref had to give a 5 metre scrum instead. The Boars were well on top but it was clear that another score was needed to close out the game. This duly came from Hesketh with a trademark crash ball move through the centre (and through 3 tackles) to score to the right of the posts.
The game started to get scrappy (in both senses) and there was little good play before the ref blew the final whistle on a very good Boars performance.

Man of the Match was Kiwi Nick for non stop foraging and support play.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod (P. De Bruin – 55), T. Wates, A. Sutton, S. Walker (P. Hookway -45), T. Rose, K. Nick, K. Lewis, Jim Cumming, D. Rhodes, B. Burdett, J. Wates, A. Foster (D. Hesketh – 50), S. Hollingdale, SA (J. Henry – 65), R. Woods

Match report by Mike MacLeod

11/27/2007 8:36:46 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

The match started fairly evenly with Heathfield electing to play into the wind in the first half. The Heathfield forwards just shaded the early period close quarter exchanges with good ruck ball won by Dean Pennell and Max Ellery allowing the back row to make good inroads into the Midhurst defence. Heathfield generally had the better of a bigger Midhurst pack during this period. Heathfield attempted to move the ball wide on a number of occasions but the big Midhurst inside centre was able to close down and kill most of these moves. It was from one of these breakdowns that Heathfield were able to quickly re-cycle the ball and quick hands enabled Henry Jolliffe to break clear. Further strong running by Jolliffe saw him beating 3 further tackles to score under the posts. Hugo Davies converted for a deserved 7 - 0 lead.

 
From the restart, Heathfield continued to pressure the Midhurst pack and a series of promising attacks were repelled by Midhurst defensive kicking using the wind well to clear thier lines. Heathfield's second try came from a Midhurst clearance kick that was fielded on the half-way line by Henry Jolliffe who was able to evade a number of Midhurst tackles to score his second in the corner. Midhurst countered almost immediately from the restart with the ball being recycled through thier big centre who managed to commit 4 Heathfield players to the tackle. This left Heathfield short of cover on the left where Midhurst's speedy winger was able to evade the first hurried tackle and then to outpace the covering defence to score in the corner. Half-time came with the game still in the balance at 12 - 5 to Heathfield.

Midhurst came out for the second half in barnstorming mood and took the game to Heathfield. The Midhurst pack started to exert greater pressure on Heathfield's forwards and started to gain better ball and more territory as a consequence. Heathfield's defence, outstandingly marshalled by Jasper Wrenn, Jamie Wardle and Greg Pearce, held out firmly until mid-way through the half when the big Midhurst centre, who had caused problems all match, managed to break a couple of tackles and score in the corner to set-up a final pulsating 10 minutes with the match in the balance at 12 - 10.

 
This score had a galvanising effect on the Heathfield forwards who raised thier game and managed to put together a passage of play involving multiple phases of good support from both backs and forwards. This led to a number of good breaks from both the backs and forwards culminating in a penalty on the Midhurst 10 metre line. Jasper Wrenn took a quick tap and was tackled early gaining his team a further 10 metres. He again took a tap and managed to evade and hand-off 4 Midhurst tacklers in an angled run into the Midhurst midfield taking him to 10 metres from the try-line. With the Midhurst defence committed to stopping him Wrenn cleverly popped the ball to centre Jack Koops who ran in to score taking the score to 17 - 10.

 
With 5 minutes to go, Heathfield appeared to ease off slightly allowing Midhurst's centre again to break free and score close to the posts. This try was converted leaving the score at a nailbiting 17 - 17 with 4 minutes to play. Again Heathfield came back at Midhurst with some good phased play forcing a number of Midhurst errors close to thier try-line. This pressure eventually led to Midhurst touching down behind thier own try line. From the ensuing 5 metre scrum, Heathfield managed to set up good phased possession and a sniping run by scrum half Hugo Davies saw him score next to the posts. Davies converted to leave a final score of 24 - 17 to Heathfield.

The forwards MoM was Jasper Wrenn with Hugo Davies taking the backs MoM award.

 
This was a highly entertaining and hard fought match which showed considerable skill in tricky conditions from both squads and maintains Heathfields unbeaten home record.

11/26/2007 12:01:37 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

The two previously unbeaten clubs in Sussex Division 1 fought out this competitive and entertaining game at Cross-In-Hand with the home team emerging victorious after scoring three tries to one.  Plentiful supporters from both clubs enjoyed probably the best game of the season so far, played in an excellent spirit.

Playing into a steady, chill wind in the first half Heathfield were hit by three penalties within 25 minutes, one from the halfway line by the impressive Grinstead kicker.  The visiting three-quarter line was looking fast and dangerous but the home defence was coping and the try line was rarely threatened although most of the play was in the Heathfield half.

The home lineout was an especially strong feature in the first half with Mark Walker outstanding in securing his own ball and frequently disrupting the opposition. Throwing-in was difficult in the conditions but Rob Lawrence was hitting his target consistently and the whole unit was working well.

Heathfield occasionally managed to work their way out of their own half as the pack began to achieve some control and on one of these occasions a penalty near the Grinstead 22 gave Bryn Jones a straightforward three points (3-9).  Entertainingly a couple of the visitors tried to charge down the kick which merely resulted in a Heathfield penalty at the restart on halfway.  The scrummage had been a fair contest but now a strike against the head by the green front row provided a good attacking opportunity although the half ended without any more points.

George Leney was  replaced by Paul Flood who was to make his usual impact on the opposition. Cognoscenti in the crowd, and a few who know about the game, considered that being six points down after playing into the wind was a promising situation.  However shortly after the restart East Grinstead had a lineout in the home 22.  A resulting free kick caught the Heathfield players losing concentration so a Grinstead flanker was able to cross for a try almost untouched.  Inevitably the try was converted so Heath were now 13 points down and a home win looking less likely.

However the home pack was now playing well and some fine positional kicks by Bryn Jones utilising the wind gained many yards.  Much of the play was in the Grinstead 22 and eventually Adam Tennant completed a good passage of play with a finely taken try beating several opponents.

The referee had been consistent all day in penalising both sides for going over the top and other offences at the breakdown: many of these were against Heathfield which often disrupted the increasing pressure on the visitor’s line.  However a period of forward control finally gave Rob Lawrence a chance to wrestle his way over and for Bryn Jones to convert for the 15-16 score-line.

Dan Hunter-Evans now replaced Richard Cooley and Mike Hole came on for Ross Riley who had been making his debut for the first team.  This is the second week in a row that a product of the Heathfield youth teams has been newly selected for the top team.  Heath have so far used 29 players in the seven competitive matches this season of which just one has been lost, demonstrating the increased strength in depth.

A few minutes later the green hooker appeared on the right wing after more sustained pressure to collect his second try of the day.  He was reported to have twinged his Achilles during the pre-match warm-up but the sight of the try line can have a remarkable healing effect. 

Although now behind 20-16 East Grinstead continued to pose a considerable threat through their three-quarters.  Then with ten minutes remaining a penalty gave Bryn Jones another kick in front of the posts (23-16).  Needing a converted try to draw the match, the visitors were having to attack from their own 22 but the green defence held firm through the remaining time, not without a few nervous moments for the home supporters.  To come back to win from 3-16 was an impressive performance from this young and developing team.

The fixture between these two sides in two weeks time in the Sussex Vase competition promises another competitive afternoon but before then Heathfield travel to Seaford next Saturday for another Sussex 1 League match – kickoff 2.15pm.

Report by Phil Bell

11/24/2007 7:05:37 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Going into this league game the Heathfield Development team were sitting pretty on top of Sussex League 2. However as Heathfield found out Robertsbridge’s lowly league position misrepresented their standard of play. This was not to be an easy game and as expected no quarter was given and none was asked. On what was a bitterly cold day the pace and intensity of this game, especially both packs kept the temperature high.

From the start both sides were looking for good position and Heathfield pack seemed to be quicker to the ball and able to gain good territory, their early possession was rewarded with a try by Matt Cooke who was filling in at fullback, Mike Shallcross converted. As the half progressed the pattern for the game was beginning to set, the Heathfield pack were dominating the forward exchanges and driving deep into the opposition half. Heathfield grabbed 2 tries from Rob Streeter and Jack Bayley from quick tap penalties in the Robertsbridge 22, Shallcross converted one.

There then followed the best try of the game, Roberstbridge kicked deep into the Heathfield half, collected by Cooke at fullback, then a series of runs and drives with excellent support play and interlinking between forwards and backs saw Shallcross score in the left corner. The half ended 24-0 to Heathfield.

No one expected Roberstbridge to lay down in this game, they started the second half on the front foot and were able to take a well deserved penalty in front of the posts. Eventually the Heathfield forwards took control again and from some strong forward runs lead by the evergreen Rob Streeter a ruck was formed 20 metres out. Mike Jacques at scrum half took full advantage of the gaps left in defence and his darting run resulting in a try under the posts, Shallcross converting.

Robertsbridge came storming back sensing Heathfield were sitting back on their lead, they soon punished them for conceding too many penalties and scored in the corner. The game finished on a high note for Heathfield with a superb second try by Mike Shallcross, the ball got moved quickly from right to left on the halfway line and Shallcross took an excellent direct line from the centres, then showed his pace to beat 2 defenders and score under the posts, he converted his own try.

This was a well deserved hard fought victory in this league game, man of the match was difficult to choose with such a good team performance, Shallcross scoring 18 points including 2 excellent tries. However it was the performance of the pack that set this victory up and although Jack Bayley pushed him close it was Rob Streeter just pipped him. Next weekend sees Heathfield entertain Haywards Heath 4ths at home in the league.

11/24/2007 8:23:52 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield traveled to Lewes on Sunday for their third league fixture of the season. Playing without several key players namely their captain Ben Darcy (Sussex rugby match imminent)  Larry Platt (concussion) Greg Salmon (sleeping bag incident !) Dayle Hollands (ankle) Campbell Lacey (wrist).

None the less, these players were ably replaced by Robert Horsfall Turner, Fraser Rogers, Callum Bridges and Alex Scott all of whom had terrific games.

Tom Keylock captained the side and switched to back row and was truly inspirational. He scored one and was everywhere securing any loose ball.

Horsfall Turner who won man of the match, replaced Keylock at Hooker with reunited props Hancock and "Shrek" Watkins won virtually every scrum against a very large Lewes pack. With the Heathfield pack dominating, the backs had a field day. With a total of ten tries scored and 7 conversions it was a rout. Tries coming from winger Ash Sutton, Wade Granich , Peter Phair , Oli Hancock , Tom Keylock  and fly half Mike Abbott . His kicking was excellent also, slotting 6 out of 7 - mostly from wide out, with Jeremy Burdett, whose tackling was outstanding, also kicking 1 nonchalant conversion. Comment must be made about the team work and overall gameplay of the Heathfield team. The game was won in the first 20 minutes with four tries coming very quickly.

Heathfield outplayed Lewes in every department with the scrummage exerting total control, the backs running incisively and all crucial tackles being made. Thanks must go to the large contingent of supporters who were extremely vocal in cheering Heathfield on, creating the atmosphere of a home match. Heathfield made several changes at half time with the match already won, and after 10 minutes of the second half with the score standing at 54 - 0 Lewes decided to end the match. A fantastic result for Heathfield to put them second in the Sussex A league.

11/23/2007 8:27:22 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Boars stay on top

The Boars went to mid table Crowborough in an attempt to keep their league title hopes alive ahead of visits to two of their main rivals in the next two fixtures. They won the fixture but not in the style to which many have become accustomed.

The Boars had a good opening 20 minutes where they dominated all phases of play and ran in 3 tries. The first from Dave Cook was a taste of things to come as he ran 20 metres through several tackles to score. The second saw Brady Burdett at his best as he dummied his way through to score and the third was another Dave Cook burst followed by him converting his own score. There was then a period of sloppy play and Crowborough came back into the game through a converted try and a penalty kick before Julian Wates crashed over at the end of a good Boars move to take the score to 22-10 at half time.

Crowborough worked hard all through the second half while the Boars dropped in and out of their best form. This led to a drop in the overall fluency of the game but this did not stop Dave Cook from getting his hat trick of tries as he was on hand to finish off when a Julian Wates line break from half way started to look like it might prove too much for the old centre. Crowborough fought back with a good move finished well by their right winger. The Boars favourite score of the day went to veteran scrum half Dave Rhodes who gathered quick ball from the base of a ruck and scampered up the right flank to score. The victory roll he did immediately afterwards was impressive and to this time unexplained. That took the final score to 32-17 in favour of Heathfield and meant at least a share of the league top spot for another 2 weeks.

Man of the Match was Tony Wates for some great work at the set pieces and for terrorising every one in the loose play (even his own players still bear the scars).

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, T. Wates, A. Sutton, P. Hookway, T. Rose, A. Farrell (D. Bird – 30), K. Lewis, D. Cook, D. Rhodes, B. Burdett, D. Hesketh, J. Wates, A. Foster, S. Hollingdale (J. Henry – 50), M. Barber (K. Davies – 50)

Report by Mike MacLeod

11/10/2007 4:13:12 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

This week’s opposition were due to be an altogether tougher nut to crack than recent league games.  Crowborough arrived with a strong and physical looking team and Heathfield were looking for a positive start to the game.   Well they couldn’t have been happier when just 5 minutes into the game they turned over Crowborough possession moved the ball out to the backs and Stuart Packham showed his pace racing in from inside his own half to score the first try.   Heathfield continued to pile on the pressure and only a few minutes later the forwards had driven deep into the opposition half, Levi Willis broke down the right wing and provided a soft inside pass for Simon Green to go in for his first try.  Just after this Crowborough had to go to uncontested scrums after losing their prop, which, under league rules means they automatically give Heathfield 10 points.

This appeared to disrupt Heathfield and there were no further scores before half time.  The game stayed quite scrappy in the first 20 minutes of the second half, however Heathfield managed to get more points on the board when Mikey Brown still rolling back the years took a quick tap penalty squeezed through some ineffective tackling and laid the ball off for Mike Jacques to score under the posts.  Sam Goatcher converted.   Heathfield had to work hard though and Crowborough managed to gain momentum by a series of good forward play and Heathfields indiscipline in conceding penalty after penalty.   Ultimately the pressure told and they scored under the posts, the try was converted. 

This appeared to be a wake up call to Heathfield and the final 20 minutes saw them play some of the best rugby of the game.  The forwards direct running put them over the gain line and fine handling and support play especially from Chris Ambrosino, Simon Green, Jack Bayley and Jim Cummings began to take toll of the Crowborough defence.  After an excellent return from a Crowborough kick by the Heathfield backs Simon Green provided excellent support and a powerful run to score his second try.  Just after that Nick Evans managed to squirm over from about 2 feet out for the final try of the game, Goatcher converted.  

An excellent result, this sees the development teams third league win on the run.   Man of the match goes to someone whose powerful defence play and immense work rate earned him 2 tries today, Simon Green.   

Report by Shaun Hipgrave

11/10/2007 4:10:25 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)