Captain Kenny Drives Boars towards League Title

East Grinstead brought a strong team to face a Boars team without 4 of their best players and came within a minute of victory. However the Boars are proving a difficult team to beat this season and their spirit and will to win eventually got them the score that keeps them top of the league with only 3 games left to play.

East Grinstead were the better team in the opening exchanges and had the Boars under pressure from the start. EG’s larger pack was putting pressure on at the set pieces and desperate defending was needed to keep out the repeated attacks. Boars number 8 Mike Brown saved a try when he managed to hold the ball up after East Grinstead had rumbled over the try line. The Boars were relying on the boot of Brady Burdett and  Rob Woods to clear their lines and gain breathing space as the ball was not moving through hands as smoothly as fans have come to expect.

This maul lead to the first Heathfield try...

After 15 minutes the persistent pressure paid off for EG when they won a penalty 20 metre out and they chose to kick. This broke the deadlock and shortly afterwards the Grinstead number 10 added to this with a clean break through the centre for a try between the posts which was converted to leave the Boars 0-10 down.

From this low point the Boars rallied and the forwards seemed to up their work rate, gaining parity in the set pieces and an edge in the loose play where the back row trio of Kenny Lewis, Ian Schleider and Mike Brown were outstanding. This gave additional impetus to the Boars backs and five minutes later Burdett tired of watching the ball being dropped outside him, dummied his opposite number and galloped the 30 metres to score. Importantly the try was converted by Woods to take the score to 7-10 at half time.

From the Boars restart kick East Grinstead countered quickly and would have scored had Captain Lewis not swept the ball up and took it out just as the EG winger looked likely to pounce. However this simply delayed the next EG score as another break from the quick EG number 10 allowed a score in the corner from where the conversion was missed. Had this been the final score East Grinstead would have gone to the top of the table.

However the Boars struck back very quickly and from quick ball won by the forwards it was spun left and full back Woods was on hand to score a try to the relief of most of the crowd.

Dave Rhodes starts another heathfield attack...

This was followed by a moment of madness as Woods again broke the East Grinstead line and crossed the try line but a moments lack of concentration saw him drop the ball and the ref denied the score. Serious dissent saw Woods be given 10 minutes to cool down and watch his team mates toil. The remaining 14 Boars did magnificently to contain the 15 men of East Grinstead with the fresh legs of substitutes Nick Kerr, Lee Keylock and Dan Bird proving vital.

Woods rejoined the action with 13 minutes to go and the Boars still 2 points down. This period saw the Boars gain an upper hand and press their tiring opponents. Time and time again attacks were repulsed until the final minute of play approached. The ball was passed to Keylock on the left and he made yards and bravely made sure that he stayed in play. Support was found and the ball went back to midfield where the attack was held up 10 metres out. Captain Lewis ripped the ball out and passed to Duncan Hesketh who drew 2 defenders and lobbed a miss pass out to winger Simon Hollingdale who is not easy to stop only 10 yards out and true to form he crashed over in the corner. The conversion kick was missed but this did nothing to lessen the cheers when the referees whistle went for the end of the match.

This final attack lead to Simon "Twinckle Toes" Hollingdale scoring in the far corner

The Boars must win two of their last 3 games to be sure of the title but after this hard fought victory that is within their grasp.

Thanks must go to Dave Robertshaw for stepping in and doing an excellent job of refereeing this critical game at very short notice.

Man of the Match was Kenny Lewis for a dynamic and inspirational performance for the full 80 minutes.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod (D. Bird – 60), C. Jones, A. Sutton, J. Parsons, S. Cooley (N. Kerr – 50), I. Schlieder, K. Lewis, M. Brown, D. Rhodes, B. Burdett, D. Hesketh, J. Wates, A. Farrell (L. Keylock – 55), S. Hollingdale, R. Woods Sub not used J. Sharp

Match report by Mike MacLeod

3/3/2008 6:23:37 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield continued their unbeaten Sussex 1 League campaign with a resounding victory over neighbours Hellingly, running in thirteen tries.  The home side was handicapped by injuries and absences but even at full strength they would have had trouble in containing a rampant Heathfield. Pitch conditions were good on a sunny afternoon with a brisk breeze behind the home team in the first half.  The visitors had the majority of possession and with their three quarters having a distinct edge over their opposite numbers in terms of pace and organisation there was little doubt over the result.

The lineout was an early area of success for Hellingly as they secured their own ball well and successfully disrupted some of the opposition ball.  However the referee intervened to prevent some of their activities and thereafter Heathfield dominated that area as well.  Heathfield had an edge in the scrummage although it was not a consistently stable platform.

After ten minutes the visitors were fourteen points up from tries by Damien Pestell and Bryn Jones coming from quick hands and good lines of running which troubled Hellingly all afternoon.  The coach Dave Jones was already urging his players to keep it simple and not to become over-excited at the scoring possibilities.

These directions were now followed immaculately as in a period of ten minutes Heathfield scored three almost identical tries from lineouts near the home line, clean catch and drive and Rob Lawrence with the ball at the back was able to touch down unimpeded. (0-29)

Hellingly were able to collect three points from a penalty conceded by a well-known  Heathfield player who had a senior moment diving on the ball in an offside position.

Just before half-time the inspirational Kiwi captain Mark Walker completed another good sequence of passing to touch down near the posts. (3-36)

In the second half with the wind behind them and the sun in their opponent’s eyes, Heathfield continued to score regularly mainly through their three quarters and Ed Armah was the first to touch down after a regulation move.

However Hellingly showed spirit by counter-attacking down their right wing, hacking ahead and exploiting some hesitancy in defence to collect at least some compensation. (8-41)

That was the end of their good news as Heathfield continued to rack up the points and Matt Skinner and Adam Tennant both collected two tries apiece.   Matt also had a decent day with the boot, collecting five conversions and being very close with several others.  Will Drinkwater went close in the corner but was stripped of the ball as he went over.

Rob Lawrence scored his fourth on the day from a familiar move at the front of the lineout and the final score was deservedly collected by George Leney who made his usual dynamic impact in the rucks and mauls.

Hellingly had competed throughout the game but there had been some signs of frustration and the referee Graeme Pratt, who had a decent and typically undemonstrative game, finally sin-binned a Hellingly player for a bad late tackle.

All three Heathfield adult teams won their matches this weekend and remain at the top of their respective leagues.  Heathfield continue their Sussex 1 League campaign next Saturday March 8th at home to Pulborough, kick off 3pm.

Report by Phil Bell

3/1/2008 3:04:37 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield turned on a powerful display of all round excellence to overcome a spirited Pulborough team in front of a large crowd at Crawley last Sunday. They deserved to retain the Sussex Shield and in doing so proved why they are enjoying such a marvellous season.

Heathfield started slowly and against the early run of play Pulborough charged down a kick by Bryn Jones and followed up with speed to score half way out. The conversion was made and Pulborough were the first team to score a try against the Greenies since before Christmas. It was to be the only blemish on Heathfield defence in the match. The East Sussex side then rolled up their sleeves and began the process of achieving domination and putting together a number of good moves and tries. However their opponents competed strongly at the breakdown and gave an excellent display in the lineout where Walker and Tonkin struggled to gain the ascendancy. Sadly Andy Bates, the Pulborough hooker suffered a nasty eye injury early on and the black and whites lost a key and very experienced player. It was looking as though Heathfield might not overtake their opponents lead in the first half when the irrepressible Rob Lawrence put the Greenies on the score sheet when he drove over the line after some splendid driving play from the forwards. Soon after Matt Skinner broke strongly through a crowded mid field, fought off some robust challenges and ran to the right feeding Simon Wilson with a scoring pass. Regrettably Matt had been struck by a high and dangerous tackle in the process which resulted in a yellow card for Pulborough and a broken nose for Matt. However Matt recovered composure to make the conversion and put Heath ahead by 12-7 at half time.

There was inevitability about the way Heathfield overpowered their opponents in the second half scoring two further goals and two tries. The Greenies were stronger in all departments and importantly were a fitter team than their opponents. Their style of Rugby was very much to the pattern that has been put in place by their excellent coach Dave Jones over the past two seasons. Their very mobile pack was much quicker to the breakdown than their opponents who found difficulty in coping with the ball carrying skills of the front five as well as the loose forwards. Having set up rucks and mauls the Greenies were able to launch their speedy backs. The team play a fluid and entertaining brand of rugby and every member of the team and the squad rewarded their coach with a continual flow of attacking rugby. Two tries were scored by backs in the second half and two were scored by forwards. Damien Pestell used his power and strength to score soon after the restart and Sam Thewlis capped a sound and cultured display at full back by cutting through the heart of the Pulborough defence to put the result of the match beyond doubt at 33-7. Earlier the popular Mark Walker who had another splendid game had run in under the posts from around the 22 metre line. Appropriately Heathfields veteran prop Tim Evans sealed the victory for Heathfield by scoring a try in the corner after showing a turn of speed which would have delighted a teenager.

Heathfield thoroughly deserved their victory and the score line did not flatter them. Simon Wilson was deservedly named man of the match but this was a team victory and every member of the squad deserves huge credit.

The Greenies continue their quest for the league and cup double when they visit near neighbours Hellingly next Saturday, kick off at 2.30

Report by Mike de St Croix

Kobe Tonkin and Mark Walker

The Squad and the Shield

2/24/2008 11:06:45 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

August 2007

£50 B. Taylor

£25 P. Mercer

£10 B.Burdett

September 2007

£50 C. Goddard

£25 M. de St Croix

£10 A. Flint

October 2007

£50 P. Jarvis

£25 D. Rhodes

£10 D. Cooley

November 2007

£50 G. Green

£25 B. Burdett

£10 G. Woods

December 2007

£50 C. Hicks

£25 R. Streeter

£10 D. Rhodes

January 2008

£50 G. Woods

£25 P. Hookway

£10 D. Langdon

2/18/2008 12:28:28 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

For the second successive week Heath field won a convincing victory without conceding any points. On a firm pitch which was in ideal for running rugby the Greenies overwhelmed a moderate Crawley side completing a hat trick of wins against a team who had no answer to Heath fields powerful style of all round rugby.

By half time Heath field were 24 points in the lead from two converted and two unconverted tries. After ten minutes Adam Tennant drove over in the corner after pressure from forwards and backs. Matt skinner converted from far out and also converted an excellent try by Sam Thewlis after a fine break from Damien Pestell who had been involved in some sparkling moves early on. The excellent Heath field back with Simon Green enjoying a promising debut at No 8 was again dominating all phases of forward play and were consequently providing a sound platform for their backs. Two of the Greenies forwards combined for the third try with the ever improving Kobe Tonkin accepting a pass from hooker Rob Lawrence to score in the left corner. Just before half time the Heath field hooker added to his tally of tries this season by picking up a loose ball and using his speed and strength to cross the try line.

Crawley started the second half strongly and forced their way into their visitors 22. Heath field appeared to have settled into a quiet spell by their standards but however well their opposition pressure their line the Greenies hate having their line crossed. Their defence is one of their strengths and Crawley simply could not find a way through. After a somewhat abrasive period of play two Heath field players were shown yellow cards and just when Crawley were encamped on the try line Heath field were obliged to play with thirteen men. This predicament stirred the league leaders into action and their pack proceeded to march their opponents from one end of the field to the other with some fantastic forward drives. A premiership side would have been proud of the strength and technique of the limited Heath field pack. Fortunately when a set scrum was called they had Richard Cooley, one of Heath fields successes this season, to come on to replace Dan Hunter Evans who himself had had an outstanding game. Having planted themselves in their opponents 22 instead of their own, Heath field launched their backs for Eddie Armah to break through midfield at pace to score a splendid try under the posts. Crawley were now broken and skipper Bryn Jones who had played his usual steady and powerful game broke to the open side and scored a solo try in the corner.

This was another splendid win for Heath field who travel To St Francis club in Crawley for the final of the Sussex Shield against Pulborough on Sunday. Coach Dave Jones expects to travel with a full squad and supporters should contact the club to check on travel arrangements. Kick Off is likely to be at 2pm.

Report by Mike de St Croix

2/16/2008 12:22:42 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

The Boars faced an Eastbourne team hurting from a surprise defeat against Cinque Ports the week before. It was clear they meant business with a large and surprisingly mobile pack taking the ball to the Boars from the start. With the Boars scrum also under pressure it was clear that the teams would run completely different tactics throughout the match. Eastbourne wanted to play a slow game close to the forwards and the Boars wanted to play a fast game out wide.

Kenny "KFC" Lewis at the lineout...

The first 15 minutes was evenly contested with both sides making half breaks and defences looking strong. The Boars changed this when they won the ball in midfield and Dave Rhodes popped a pass to the blindside for man of the match Mike Macleod to run onto. Macleod offloaded to Brady Burdett who drew in the last defender and passed to Full Back Rob Woods who outpaced the cover defence to score between the posts. Rhodes converted to make the score 7-0.

the Club Chairman has still got it...

This stung Eastbourne who pressured hard until a big clearance kick and chase got the Boars a lineout 10 metres out from the Eastbourne line. Scrum half Rhodes caught the Eastbourne defence dozing when he took the ball in himself and jinked past the sleepy defence to score in the corner. To their credit Eastbourne came back even harder and pressured the Boars line for several minutes. During this phase they were awarded a 5 metre scrum and used their considerable weight advantage to good effect by pushing the Boars back over their line to take the score to 12-5.

Eastbourne continued to pound away through their forwards and the Boars defended stoutly. Another foray into the Eastbourne half gained the Boars a vital score just before halftime. The Boars forwards recycled quick ball and it went quickly through the backs hands and out to full back Woods who snuck in at the corner to leave the score at 17-5 at halftime.

Brady puts away Simon "Twinckle Toes" Hollingdale

The Boars now had the advantage of the wind and used this to pin the Eastbourne forwards back as much as possible. This worked well until blindside flanker Ian Schleider was yellow carded and a poor clearance kick let the Eastbourne pack execute their rolling maul close to the line and the Boars did not defend well enough to stop the score. 17-10 and the game was back in the balance.

The decisive score came with 15 minutes left to play when replacement full back Sam Goatcher came into the line and scored near the corner in front of the clubhouse. The Boars continued to work hard to deny Eastbourne a way back into the game and most of the last 10 minutes was spent in the opponents half. There was great relief when the referees whistle went for the end of the match leaving the Boars top of the league.

Man of the Match was Mike Macleod for a gutsy performance as prop and for doing the ‘hard work’ throughout the match.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. Sharp (C. Ambrosino – 50), B. Togher, P. Hookway (P. de Bruin – 60), T. Rose, I. Schlieder (D. Bird – 65), K. Lewis (B. Groves – 75), O. Robertshaw, D. Rhodes, B. Burdett, D. Hesketh, A. Farrell, S. Hollingdale, N. Sands, R. Woods (S. Goatcher – 40)

Match report by Mike MacLeod

2/16/2008 4:55:23 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield put on a superb display of all round attacking rugby on a difficult sticky surface at Burgess Hill. The Greenies had experienced problems with beating Burgess Hill in their first league encounter but as far as this game was concerned there was only one side in contention from first whistle to last. Many complimentary things have rightfully been written about this Heath field side but in this match the team hit a peak as a unit and showed how they have reached this stage of the season with an unbeaten record.

The structure of Heathfield`s performance was well nigh perfect. Their forwards quickly achieved supremacy in the set pieces and were frequently first to the breakdown where the back row took charge often winning turnover ball. Both Simon Wilson and George Leney are enjoying outstanding seasons and once again they were the instigators of many of Heathfield`s moves. Joining them in the back row Lee Vokins did not suffer in comparison and made a thorough nuisance of himself to the Burgess Hill half backs. Mark Walker, Kobe Tonkin and Wilson were dominant in the lineout and won a lot of possession from their opponents throws in. The front row simply took charge as always and veteran prop Tim Evans had possibly his best game in a Heath field shirt. His speed in the loose and his handling skills were a revelation and his fitness was certainly on a par with his younger colleagues. Hooker Rob Lawrence had another splendid game and added to his tally of tries this season.

Having established forward supremacy the Greenies went to work on their opposition with a stunning exhibition of fast and powerful running. Will Christian distributed well and made some good runs close to his pack. Skipper Bryn Jones chose his options skilfully and drove Burgess Hill on to the defence with some probing kicks. Damien Pestell and Matt Skinner had their best game of the season as a centre combination and the speedy wingers capitalised on the all round teamwork  with Ed Armah scoring three tries and Adam Tennant always in the action. Behind the three quarters Will Drinkwater was a model of consistency at full back and “Mono” Thewlis looked full of class when he replaced Armah shortly before the end of the game.

First half scores came from Armah(2) flying down the wing and Simon Wilson, capitalising from a line out steal by “Kiwi” Walker and hooker rob Lawrence taking an excellent pass from prop Evans. In the second half the ubiquitous Evans delivered another lovely pass for Ed Armah to continue his tryfest  and the centre pairing scored a try a piece with Matt Skinner converting both.

Coach David Jones was delighted with his team’s performance which will give them great confidence for their remaining games. This Saturday they travel to Crawley for a league match and the following Sunday the Greenies supporters will follow them to St Francis ground in Crawley where they will defend the Sussex Shield against Pulborough.

Report by Mike de St Croix

2/9/2008 3:05:46 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

On a lovely sunny day the Boars enjoyed a rare outing on the main pitch at Cross-in-Hand but struggled to play flowing rugby. The first half started well with early scores from Simon Hollingdale and Rob Woods but descended into a catalogue of unforced errors by the Boars and Crowborough came back into the game with stand off Ed Radford pulling the strings. A converted try by Crowborough took the score to 10-7 and the game was in the balance before a try from Sam Barrow, converted by Dave Rhodes put the Boars in 17-7 up at half time.

Will he or wont he? Just because it looks like he is going to pass it doesnt mean he will...

The Boars made several changes at half time and that seemed to wake them up. The forwards began to be more direct in their running and began to break the line before offloading. The backs responded by catching passes that were previously going to ground. This led to a flurry of unanswered tries with Woods adding two more for his hat trick and single scores for Andy Foster, Brady Burdett and Mike Barber. The score probably flattered the Boars but the points were put in the bag none the less.

Schleider takes the ball at a line out...

Man of the Match was number 8 Sam Barrow with Julian Wates pushing him very close. A special mention must go to Keith Davies who was lent to the Crowborough side for this match and put in an abrasive and gutsy performance including a ‘cooling off’ period in the sin bin.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. La Roche (J. Sharp), J. Geesin (A. Sutton), J. Parsons (S. Walker), T. Rose (B. Groves), A. Farrell (I. Schleider), K. Lewis (D. Bird), S. Barrow, D. Rhodes, B. Burdett, J. Wates, D. Hesketh, S. Hollingdale, A. Foster, R. Woods (M. Barber)

Match report by Mike MacLeod

2/9/2008 9:43:49 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

A mixed team of Boars and Development team players enjoyed a close game of rugby on a cold but bright and sunny day. Early scores from Duncan Hesketh and rob Woods put Heathfield in a good position before St Francis really woke up. When St Francis capitalised on a Boars mistake to score the game got interesting. Heathfield were relieved when Nick Seddon scored and more so when Jack Bayley got another on half time to take the score to 24-5.

Hesketh charges through to score early on...

Kenny "KFC" Lewis takes good ball at the lineout...

The second half started well for St Francis with two early tries during a period when Heathfield went down to 13 men due to an injury and a sin binning. Once restored to 14 men Heathfield were very thankful for a fine score from Jim Cumming after a penalty was awarded on the Francis 22. After this St Francis piled on the pressure and the Boars limited St Francis to a single try in this 20 minute session as the clock wound down. With the final move of the game Levi Willis made the score more respectable as he finished off a good backs move.

Heathfield under pressure at the scrum...

Man of the Match was all round action man Chris Jones.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. Bayley, C. Jones, J. Cumming, I. Schleider, S. Green, K. Lewis, S. Barrow, M. Jaques, S. Goatcher, J. Wates, D. Hesketh, L. Willis, N. Seddon, R. Woods

Match report by Mike MacLeod

2/2/2008 9:27:00 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield cruised into their second successive final of the Sussex Shield Competition with a sound all-round performance at Cross-In-Hand.  Having beaten Crawley earlier in the season by 27 points, this was an almost identical performance based on the home side controlling the set pieces, playing their effective driving game and then finishing well.

Crawley played with the brisk chill breeze in the first half but handicapped themselves by catching the referee’s eye far too often, mainly for fringing, with a total penalty count of 14-3 against Crawley.  This excellent discipline by Heathfield is a distinct improvement from earlier in the season.

Against the wind Heathfield still managed to play a large part of the first half in the visitors’ territory and this pressure was rewarded with a penalty by Matt Skinner. Heathfield played some fine rugby with their now familiar well-supported driving and good handling.  This was supplemented by one eye-catching run with a kick ahead and retrieving catch by Matt Skinner.

Crawley did manage to reach the Heathfield 22 on a few occasions but failed to come away with any points. Then Heathfield again drove up the field and Eddie Armah finished a fine passage of play in the left-hand corner.  This was his first game back after an extended break for injury and on several occasions he showed the pace and skill that will trouble many more defences.  The half-time score of 8-0 was generally considered satisfactory by the home supporters given the conditions.

The Heathfield lineout had probably its best game this season with consistent catches at impressive height providing quick and secure ball.  Crawley have a sizeable front row but Tim Evans, Rob Lawrence and Dan Hunter-Evans more than matched them and came away with several strikes against the head.  Dan in particular had a massive day in dominating his prop and providing critically solid lifting in the lineout.

Crawley competed well throughout the game, particularly in the pack and their back row were effective at keeping pressure on Heathfield who had the majority of possession.

Not long into the second half Matt Skinner collected another penalty (11-0) while Crawley missed one.  A sustained period of pressure by Heathfield now resulted in another well-taken try by Ed Armah who was put away by a classy pass from Rob Lawrence. (16-0)

The cold wind and dropping temperature made handling increasingly difficult.  There was little doubt about the result by now and the rest of the game was marked by frequent substitutions as both sides used all of the seven replacements available to them.  One of these was Kobe Tonkin who now scored a try from close range after repeated Heathfield attacks. (21-0)

Victory was sealed with a try by veteran Rob Streeter who dived over near the posts to a noisy reception from the home supporters, converted by Matt Skinner.

These two sides meet again in two weeks time in a Sussex 1 League game at Crawley but before then Heathfield travel to Burgess Hill for another league game (9^th Feb 2.30pm kick off).  Given the closeness of the game between these two sides recently Heathfield will need at least to maintain the standard of play shown this week.

Report by Phil Bell

2/2/2008 6:21:50 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Here is a picture of the Development Team prior to a fixture earlier in the season.

2/1/2008 6:35:35 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)