Heath field travelled to East Grinstead last Saturday trailing their closest rivals by two points and having an inferior point’s difference. They returned to Cross in Hand as outright league leaders with a superior points difference. This reversal came about because the Greenies struck a rich vein of form and quite simply demolished a good East Grinstead side with a display of scintillating rugby.

The foundations for this victory were laid by the Heath field forwards. The front row of Cooley, Lawrence and the ever youthful Evans dominated their opposition from the first scrum and also played superbly in the loose. Behind them Rob Streeter had another blistering game alongside the rapidly improving Kobe Tonkin and the back row trio of Wilson, Leney and Pestell proved that they have no superiors as a unit in the county. The amount of ball they turned over and their tackle count was prodigious.Rob Fiford maintained the excellence of the trio when he joined the fray. 

The game began well for Heath field with Mike Hole making a powerful run down the right wing from far out for his wing partner Adam Tennant to receive the scoring pass for the first of his haul of five tries. At this point the home side responded energetically and Heath field had to defend bravely for a long period. Having survived the early pressure Heath field broke clear again and quick passing down the line saw Tennant scoring again in the corner. Realising this was his day Adam, who has been an ever present for the Greenies in his first season at the club, capitalised on a heal against the head by the front row to complete his hat trick before half time. Heath field turned round 15-0 ahead and the writing was on the wall. Bruce Pestell was in discomfort from a back injury and was replaced at half time by the promising Rob Fiford.

Having moved comfortably ahead at half time the excellent Heath field XV hit top form from the start of the second half and maintained the pressure on their opponents until the final whistle. It was superb fifteen man rugby with every player including the bench replacements playing at the top of their game. The large Heath field group of supporters were treated to possibly the best all round performance by their side since they entered league rugby. Before Adam Tennant added his fourth try the Heath field forwards decided to score a strictly forwards try with one of the sides leading point scorers Rob Lawrence claiming the touchdown. Seb Jones had replaced Mike Hole and the formidable Dan Hunter Evans replaced Richard Cooley for the final ten minutes. These two young props are playing superbly and some of Richard Cooley’s defensive work was outstanding.

The all round domination resulted in the  Heath field backs running in their tries with two and three man overlaps ceated by strong running and good handling by the half backs and centres. Will Christian had a good game against another talented scrum half and Heath`s powerful midfield trio of  Bryn Jones, Damien Pestell and Matt Skinner overwhelmed their highly rated opposite numbers. Adam Tennant however crowned his afternoon by scoring a solo try from the ten metre line before Rob Fiford added the final try to take Heath field past the 40 point mark. Clearly East Grinstead had “a bad day at the office” but Heath field deserve every accolade for a wonderful performance and the game was well refereed and was played in good spirit by all the players. In conclusion this performance proved how well this Heath field side is coached by Dave Jones and what a happy and motivated squad he has developed.

Report by Mike de St. Croix.

1/5/2008 12:48:39 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Great End to Year for Rugby Girls

H3 U15 girls’ rugby team ended 2007 with an impressive 85-0 win over South Sussex at Hastings on Sunday.

Excellent teamwork denied South Sussex opportunities to make sustained attacks and determined defence on all parts of the field ensured H3 kept a clean sheet. Hard work at training paid off with H3 forwards showing particular strength at rucks and whenever the ball fell loose.  This allowed their backs to demonstrate their speed, with several tries run from inside the South Sussex 22.  Six different names appeared on the score sheet, demonstrating the depth of talent within the H3 side.  Try scorers were Debs Harwood, Nina Crowther, Katie Bauer, Georgia Gale and Mel Ruffel, with Laura Baker and Debs Harwood converting 9 of those tries.

12/18/2007 4:41:40 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

The Boars continue their good run of form with a solid win over their local rivals. The Boars started slowly following the stag night of Boars Captain Kenny Lewis and paid the penalty early. Burdett threw a pass that resembled a wounded pigeon and while trying to deal with this mess Hesketh passed to a grateful opponent who ran in to score between the posts for a converted try. The boars also had to sort out a misfiring scrum which contained four who were sweating pure alcohol from the night before.

A bit of normal service was resumed as the Boars forwards began to win the ball at the breakdowns and grind forward. From this platform the backs began to string passes together and Hesketh made hard yards up the middle, offloaded to Julian Wates who rode the last two tackles to score between the posts and allow Rhodes to convert. Hellingly were then unlucky to have a man sin-binned for persistent infringement and even they were surprised when they went over for a converted try during this period.

The next score looked critical and the Boars got it as the controlled a maul near the halfway line scrumhalf Rhodes sensed that the Hellingly defence had overcommitted and made a blindside break and as he was tackled found Tony Wates on his shoulder for a try. This seemed to settle the team and a more stable platform was found from which to pressure the Hellingly defence into mistakes. Good work on the left led to a penalty 10 yards out. Rhodes took the quick tap and spun the ball right where it went quickly through hands to allow Hollingdale to beat a stretched defence to score in the corner. So this brought up half time with the score at 17-12 to the Boars.

The second half saw fresh legs added in the form of a number of Colts who added vim and vigour to the advantage of playing downhill and Hellingly were made to defend for most of the half. The Boars pack had by now sorted out their issues (sweated out the alcohol?) and were winning ball cleanly and from this platform the backs swept into action. Julian Wates and Burdett scored good tries before the colts took over with Dorrill and Neil ? both scoring before Julian wates scored his third and final try. This rounded of a fine match for the Boars and kept the pressure on East Grinstead at the top of the league.

The funniest moment of the match was when big Julian Wates was ‘interacting’ with an opponent after a ruck and a voice piped up “Oi! That’s my little brother so leave him alone”. Julian and opponent were left helpless with laughter at such a show brotherly love.

Man of the Match was Duncan Hesketh who often broke the defensive line to allow others to score and put in the big tackles to halt the opposition attacks.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, T. Wates, A. Sutton, P. Hookway, T. Rose, N. Wood (S. Dorrill – 40), Ian Schleider, J. Parsons (D. Bird – 60), D. Rhodes, B. Burdett (L. Keylock), J. Wates, D. Hesketh, S. Hollingdale (J. Donnebaer – 40), N. Huxter (K. Davies – 60), M. Barber

Match report by Mike MacLeod

12/18/2007 1:57:07 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

This match was always going to prove to be one of our most difficult away matches logistically due to the distance to travel and the proximity to Christmas. With player numbers dwindling rapidly during the week, Heathfield were able to field 16 players for what had the potential of being a very hard fixture. As it happened a further 3 players dropped out on the morning of the match leaving a 13 man team and one of those players suffering a heavy cold!

The match started with a hugely re-jigged team and two “borrowed” players from Bognor… and it started with a bang! From the kick-off, Heathfield pressured the Bognor forwards and the backs ran a few successful moves ending with a scrum on the Bognor 10 metre line. A great scrum followed allowing Greg Pearce, playing No. 8 for the first time, to peel blind. This sucked in the covering defence and a good inside pop to Fergus Diplock, again playing in a new position for Heathfield allowed him to break the last cover and score close to the corner. This try was brilliantly converted by Harry Reilly.

Then followed a period of about 15 minutes of sustained pressure from Bognor with attack after attack being repelled by some superb defensive tackling and rucking from the back row of Greg Pearce, Max Ellery and Jasper Wrenn. As soon as Bognor tried to move the ball wide, thumping tackles were made in the backs by Harry Reilly, George Bending and particularly Henry Jolliffe. Indeed, during this phase pf play, Bognor managed to cross the Heathfield line twice, knocking on once in a heavy tackle in the process of scoring and being held up by the forwards on the second occasion. Just when it looked like Heathfield would eventually leak a try, Heathfield managed to steal ruck ball and feed Henry Jolliffe just short of the Heathfield try-line. Henry beat the first tackle and then it was a straight footrace between him and the very speedy Bognor fullback. A well timed hand-off from Henry allowed him to fend off the attempted tackle and stroll in the final 30 metres to score under the posts. Harry easily making the conversion. There followed a period of good attacking play by both teams to provide a very entertaining first half with Heathfield leading 14 – 0.

The second half started in the same vein as the first ended with both sides playing fast entertaining rugby with nether side able to gain dominance. Heathfield managed to post the next score again from a defensive position close to their own line. A penalty conceded by Bognor allowed Harry Reilly to clear to the 10 metre line. The subsequent lineout was won by Heathfield (as were most lineouts throughout the match) and a series of backs moves and great ball retention from the forwards saw George Bending able to clear the last Bognor defender and dot the ball down close to the posts. Harry Reilly again converting to take the score to 21 – 0.

Then followed a bit of pantomime from the re-start with the kick not going 10 metres. Whilst the entire Bognor team were static watching the ball, quick thinking from Henry Jolliffe saw him collect the ball at full pace and beat the defence without a hand being laid on him, to score under to the posts. Harry converted tacking the score to 28 - 0.

Bognor looked deflated at this point but credit to them for fighting back to again come close to scoring with the Heathfield defence still having to work hard to keep Bognor at bay. Heathfield managed to work their way upfield again through a series of excellent clearances from Harry Reilly and great ball retention from the forwards. Eventually, Heathfield were awarded a penalty on the half-way line which Harry tapped to himself and then placed a great cross-field kick for Jasper, Henry J. and Callum Cuming to chase down. The ensuing ruck was hit by a phalanx of Heathfield forwards arriving at pace to clear out allowing Henry J. to pick up through the middle of the ruck and break clear to score. Harry Riley finally missed this conversion leaving the match score at 33 – 0.

All-in-all a hugely entertaining game of rugby, played on an excellent pitch (given the recent weather!) and in superb spirit. Man of the match for the forwards was well contested by a number of players but in the end goes to Max Ellery for putting in a great performance when he shouldn’t have even been playing and to Fergus Diplock for some sterling work behind his forwards and against a perpetually offside opponent! Henry Jolliffe gets a very honourable mention for his 3 tries, great tackling, brilliant running and for being the first Heathfield U13 player to throw-up during a game, be taken off and then come back for more!!!

12/17/2007 4:03:18 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

The final league game of the season saw the Heathfield Development team still at the top of the table but facing one of their toughest fixtures so far against a strong Hastings side.  Hastings set their stall out early in the game and despite concerted Heathfield pressure the Hastings’ defence was well organised and robust.  In fact despite sustained Heathfield pressure with 35 minutes of the first half gone they only had 2 missed penalty kicks to show for it.  However by then the continued pressure from the Heathfield forwards and repeated drives towards the Hastings line took its toll.  Hastings conceded another 5-yard scrum and after good driving work, a break off by the back row then Jack Bayley and Mike Jacques, wriggled over for a score.  Both had hold of the ball at the time, so I suppose the try should go down to Jacques Bayley.  Sam Goatcher got the all-important conversion.

The second half was an even more competitive affair with the match getting niggly and Hastings conceding penalty after penalty, but Heathfield could never quite get it together to make them pay.  The backs never really got the space to make their pace tell and the forwards despite excellent ball carries by Nick Evans and Ollie Robertshaw couldn’t totally dominate Hastings.  Heathfield were not able to cross the try line again although they came close, though Goatcher did get 2 more penalties to put some distance between the sides.  Danny Basen made an excellent try saving tackle on one of Hastings few forays into the Heath half and overall this was a well-deserved hard fought victory.  Man of the match was Jack Bayley who defended stoutly and popped up all over the pitch constantly putting Hastings under pressure.  Next game is the 5th Jan, this sees the second team signing off the year top of the table. 

12/17/2007 3:59:46 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

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)