Chichester RFC U14 0 Heathfield and Waldron RFC U14 21

Light rain and greasy conditions set the scene for Heathfield's League match against home team Chichester, a useful side with a number of big players who looked threatening and well drilled.

 
From the outset Chichester piled the pressure on Heathfield, with a scrum that was fired up and a fly half happy to kick to gain ground. Heathfield didn't help by conceding ground with a some basic errors that resulted in Chichester further taking the advantage but throughout the onslaught the Heathfield defence remained resolute with Jasper Wrenn playing an excellent game as captain, focusing his forwards and frustrating the galvanised Chichester side.

 
The match turned on one glorious try, twenty minutes into the game, that began on Heathfield's own 22 yard line where the forwards turned a ruck and through fast ball handling skills and fantastic support the ball worked its way along the line to Centre Henry Jolliffe who eluded Chichester to use his pace to touch down under the posts after a 60 metre run.
Harry Reilly duly converted the first of three conversions on the day.

 
This try sparked Heathfield into a confident display for the rest of the game and Henry Ross, aided by Greg Pearce, Max Ellery and Connor Ingham, scored a classic forward's try after a long tussle on the Chichester line.

From now on the game was to go Heathfield's way with the whole team doing their bit and Harry Reilly's deft use of the boot peeling open the Chichester defence for Jack Koops and Henry Jolliffe to use their pace to get attack the corner. Jamie Wardle played a massive game, he was the first at every breakdown and dominated the loose ball with great skill and determination.

 
The final try was once again the result of aggressive running close to Chichester's Posts. Reilly committing two Chichester defenders before delivering a lovely pop pass to Fergus Diplock who applied the coup de grace with a powerful lunge to score the final try of the match. Gareth Lloyd, Zack Llamas and Alex Borg were all noticeable in the effort that they put into this very satisfying win and Kieran Burdett distributed the ball well.

 
All in all it was a delight to watch, excellent rugby was played by both sides but on the day, the better team won.

10/27/2008 1:09:15 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

H3/South Sussex Barbarians U18’s v Gravesend

Battling Barbarians make it tough for Gravesend

After the rain and gales of last week the U18 girls from South Sussex and H3 Barbarians Rugby teams proved they are a side for all weathers when they fought a determined battle against Gravesend on Sunday in sunshine and heat more suited to sunbathing.  In only their second game together, the girls quickly showed the Kent side that they were a force to be reckoned with, scoring from their first possession of the game to take a 7 –0 lead within three minutes of play.  Gravesend were quick to respond to level the scores and throughout the first quarter the lead changed hands several times as the H3/South Sussex girls continued to demonstrate superior speed with several break-away tries from inside their own half. Gravesend used their height and weight advantage to good effect in close play but consistently strong tackling,  determined defence, and the greater pace and agility of the Barbarian backs resulted in the Gravesend team being only one try ahead at full-time.

The final score of 51 – 64 reflected the Kent sides’ ability to convert their tries.

Katie Baurer

Girl of the Match was Katie Baurer, the try scorers for the Barbarians were Barbara Cook, Katie Bauer (3) Nina Crowther (4) Molly Byrne

Any girls interested in playing rugby should check out the H3 website at www.h3girlsrugby.co.uk

10/26/2008 11:40:14 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

H3 Girls clean sweep at Lewes

In a three-way fixture at Lewes last Sunday the H3 U15’s started the season in impressive style.

H3 41  v's  Beckenham 0

A great result for the girls in their first game of the season. Excellent attacking lines from the backs with exceptional individual breaks from Georgia Gray, Deborah Harwood and Mary Cunningham, well supported by newcomers to this age grade, Beth Joslin, Millie Gale and Emily Morgan

The backs were provided with a steady supply of clean ball from the strong play from the forwards, especially newcomer Paris Fraser, well presented by scrum half Mel Ruffell.

H3 scrum half Mel Ruffell

H3 24  v's  South Sussex 10

The H3 under 15’s knuckled down to win a strongly contested game against an excellent South Sussex team. The H3 backs carved through and made good ground with tries from Captain, Deborah Harwood and Georgia Gray as well as a fine individual effort from Scrum Half Mel Ruffell. South Sussex came back with a strong attack and Cassie Larcombe was only denied on several occasions by exceptional tackling from Deborah Harwood and Georgia Gale.

The H3 support play was well coordinated and both teams provided entertaining and attractive rugby.

Girl of the match award went to Mel Ruffell

10/26/2008 11:34:46 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Sussex Festival

The H3 girls were very well represented in the county U15 squad who performed exceptionally well at the recent festival held at Crawley. On there way to the final they beat Middlesex, Eastern Counties, Oxfordshire and Kent only losing in the final in a hard fought game v Hertfordshire by a single try. On the day the girls only conceded three tries with H3 & Sussex captain Deborah Harwood being top try scorer.

Back Row: Charlotte Bird, Georgia Gale, Zoe Joslin, Beth Joslin, Sam Graham, Deborah Harwood, Georgia Gray
Front Row: Melissa Ruffell, Milly Gale

Any girls/ladies interested in playing rugby should please contact either

Claire Byrne on 07828 236386 website address www.southsussexbarbarians.co.uk

or Andy Baurer on 0774-0162367 website address www.h3girlsrugby.co.uk

10/25/2008 10:26:13 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

HEATHFIELD RATCHET UP THE PRESSURE

Heathfield and Waldron RFC U14 50      Lewes RFC U14 0

For a change the weather was kind for an exciting game that saw Heathfield take on a large and fast Lewes side. From the word go Heathfield used their forwards to batter Lewes and Alex Borg was instrumental in most of the attacking moves, always ably supported by Zack Lamas, Max Ellery and Adam Davies. The forward play was to provide the foundations for the backs to take the game to Lewes.

Alex Borg opened the account from a ruck on Lewes's 22 yard line, he grabbed the ball and used his strength to touch down by the posts and this was to be the first of the Heathfield tally. Lewes were not a pushover and they always looked threatening with a big pack that was happy to run the ball and two very swift centres that ran some excellent angles taking the game to Heathfield and one area that must have disappointed Heathfield was the amount of ball lost to Lewes in rucks, an area that will no doubt be looked at!

The home team did however starve Lewes of the ball and this was the basis for the backs to pressure Lewes. Henry Jolliffe's pace and Harry Reilly's deft kicking were to prove decisive and Gareth Llloyd at Fly Half played an astute game. Gabriel Davies, Louis Chavannes and Fergus Diplock showed excellent ball handling skills with George Bending on the wing always looked threatening. Later in the game, Jasper Wrenn and Henry Ross added some sizzle, Jamie Wardle put in some exceptional tackles to contain Lewes and Connor Ingham continued his rampaging style.

It was a great game held in good spirit and Lewes never let their heads go down right up to the final whistle.

In addition to Heathfield's tries scored by Alex Borg (2) and Henry Jollifee (4),  Zack Lamas and Freddie Jones also added to the scoreboard. Harry Reilly very ably converted 5.

10/20/2008 9:48:50 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

EDF Cup - Charlton Park 21 H&W FRC 10

Both clubs’s fielded below strength teams in the second round of the EDF national    competition which tends to indicate that league programmes are now so cluttered that many clubs feel unable to field their leading players for cup games. The Charlton Park “A” side won this match largely because their defence was tighter and because they capitalised on an excess of sloppy play by Heathfield.

Although a number of key players were absent it was good to see two highly promising young men included in the Heathfield squad. The experience will have done them nothing but good. It was also excellent to see Mark Walker back He won much good lineout ball and played with his usual zest and skill around the park.

Heath started well and looked as though they would exact revenge for an earlier league defeat at Kidbrooke.They scored the first try after prop Richard Cooley dived on a loose ball and surprised the home defence who were unable to prevent scrum half Lee Vockins from leaving the defence flat footed to score half way out. At this point Tom Pritchard had to leave the field with an injury to be replaced by the evergreen Levi Willis who took up an unaccustomed position in the back row. As is his wont he did not let his team down.

Heath had enjoyed some good possession early on but towards the end of the first half Charlton Park scored twice. First Heathfield failed to deal with a high kick and suffered the consequences and then, just before half time, a Charlton Park lock picked up a loose ball on the Greenies 22 and succeeded in running unopposed to score under the posts. Heathfield looked shell-shocked and reached half time trailing by 5 points to 17.

The second half was evenly matched with Heathfield trying everything they knew to close the point’s difference and gain a victory which was always within their grasp. They mounted a number of attacks on their opponents line but Charlton Park`s tackling and defensive play was always sound and Heath’s efforts were repelled time and again. However with ten minutes of play remaining Rob Lawrence broke clear in the opposition’s 22 and delivered a fine pass for Sam Thewlis to score. The conversion was missed but still Heath looked as though they could still win. However in the closing moments Park kicked ahead, Heath failed to tidy up and secure the ball and the Home side scored under the posts. Park`s winning score of 21-10 flattered a trifle but their win was nevertheless deserved.

Heathfield travel to Bromley for a challenging fixture against the League joint leaders Bromley this Saturday. 

10/20/2008 9:40:12 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

H3/South Sussex v's Central Weald

On Saturday as part of Brighton Rugby clubs 140th celebrations the South Sussex/H3 U18 girls played a short exhibition game against girls from Central Weald in an effort to promote girls rugby in Sussex. With many Sussex clubs now increasingly devoting time and effort to developing girls teams the girls game in Sussex continues to grow and flourish. Representing South Sussex/H3 were:

Back Row: Harri Neesam, Yas Eager, Kayleigh Leaney, Nina Crowther, Kat Cook
Front Row: Taylor Coade, Laura Baker, Becky Joslin, and Katie Baurer

10/18/2008 9:57:55 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield & Waldron 4th XV vs East Grinstead 3rd XV

I dont have a match report yet but we do have some video footage...

The first one is of Mike Hole Scoring from a nicely worked backs move [A DSP by the look of it!!] and the second one is of an Ian Jenkins try, after being put away by a lovely little pop from scrum half Matt Walker. Its a shame that its sideways, but if you turn your head you'll be fine...

Mike Hole scoring from a nicely worked backs move...

Jenko crashes over...

Thanks to Dave Groom for the video, thats the first time he has ever been up with play! Apparently I have been unfair and I would like to make it know that I didnt mean the cheap attack on Dave Groom, he is as fine a winger as has ever for the club... [is that better Dave?]

10/14/2008 7:56:33 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Development XV 21 Barns Green 10

After a big loss last week to Worthing the Development XV were determined to get back into winning ways this week. Barns Green was last encountered at the end of last season when we met in a tournament in Warsaw Poland!

Once more there was a number of changes to the development XV from the previous week which included a number of ex Robertsbridge players including Julian, who added much needed bulk to the front row.

Barns green opened the scoring with a try that was manufactured by there strong forwards, this was scored out wide and the conversion was missed. Heathfield replied with a penalty kick by fly half Sam Goacher. This sequence was repeated later on in the first half, a Barns Green try and a Sam Goacher penalty, giving a half time score of 10 - 6 to Barns green.

Unlike the past few weeks where a lack of concentration and periods of ill discipline undermined the teams performance, a new found determination helped to raise our game and during the second half the Dev XV were clearly the team that had the game under control. The first try of the second half was scored by No 8 Oli Robertshaw, who had a dominate game at the base of the scrum often helping out new scrum half Nick Seddon at the set piece, he powered over to score a well deserved try. Sam Goacher who was in fine kicking form missed the difficult conversion but kicked another penalty with in a few minutes. Heathfield was now showing some of the skills that is pleasing to the eye, with fine tactical kicking from San Goacher, elusive runs from fullback Chris English, and centres Stuart Buckland and Leon running set moves. The second try for Heathfield was scored by one of the more mature players, hooker Chris Jones, who belied his years to collect the ball from a breakdown and dash ten metres diving over the line for the decisive score of the game. Converted by Sam Goacher.

All in all a more rounded performance by the entire team.

10/13/2008 4:59:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Heathfield & Waldron RFC 17 Horsham 7

Heathfield continued their promising start to the season by defeating Horsham in a close and keenly contested match at Cross in Hand. Both sides were short of key players but Heath used the home advantage to good effect especially in the first half when their speed of thought and action looked like putting the result beyond doubt before half time. Horsham had other ideas and put in a storming second half to restrict the home team to a ten point winning margin.

After a scrappy start Greenies settled down to play in the manner that they and their supporters enjoy. Heathfield achieved parity in scrum and line out and the speed of their forwards to the breakdown created quick ball for backs and forwards to develop sustained movement from one end of the field to the other. The visitors found adjusting to this tempo difficult which allowed the home team to play some fast and attractive football. Towards the end of the first quarter Heathfield secured lineout ball through Bruce Pestell and ever improving scrum half Lee Vockins made a clean break to feed No 8 Simon Wilson who ran in from outside the Horsham 22 to score near the posts. Joe Reilly converted to take Heath into a 7-0 lead. The Greenies continued to play fast  and entertaining rugby and were rewarded with a second try after a good passage of play when Bryn Jones timed a pass superbly for Heathfield full back Sam Thewlis to run at pace through the visitors defence. Again Reilly converted to give Heathfield a 14-0 lead at half time.

Horsham were a different team in the second half and dominated the game for long periods. Their forwards gained parity in all departments up front and their backs looked threatening whenever they ran the ball. By contrast the home team were unusually restrained in the second half and were relieved to be awarded a penalty in the dying minutes to secure a fair but unconvincing victory. Horsham’s only reward for an excellent second half was one converted try.

Heathfield played well as a team in the first half of this game and a few players put in outstanding performances over the full eighty minutes. Simon Wilson was constantly involved and worked really well with Vockins at scrum half and with his back row colleagues. Bruce Pestell had a storming game, winning valuable possession at the lineout and making a number of surging runs. Brother Damien was, as ever a powerhouse in the centre and Sam Thewlis gave a polished performance at full back.

This was a valuable win against a team who never gave up. Heathfield continue their challenge in the EDF cup competition on Saturday when they visit Charlton Park for the second time this season. Kick off in south east London will be at 2.30.         

10/13/2008 4:28:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

Chichester 3’s 36 Heathfield Boars 5

Boars suffer travel sickness

The Boars suffered from the loss of 8 regular players for the long journey to Chichester and were not good enough to deny a vigorous Chichester side a win.

Dave Rhodes starts an early boars attack

With traffic delays the Boars arrived late and had only 5 minutes to warm up ahead of kick off. The Boars looked sluggish for most of the first half and were grateful to turn round at only 5-0 down. This was due to some good defence but was mainly down to Chichester errors when making breaks.

Again more good early pressure from the Boars...

The Boars also showed some great defence, well at least for the majority of the game...

Chichester were more clinical in the second half as they upped the speed of the game and ran the older Boars forwards round the pitch until gaps appeared and tries resulted. Chichester scored four tries in this fashion during a 20 minute purple patch. During this period a brave tackle from guest fullback Neill Newport saw him taken to hospital for 21 stitches to a facial cut. The Boars briefly came back into the game when captain Julian Wates chipped a flat defence and outpaced [there's something you dont hear very often!!] the defenders to score.

Justin breaks the line...

Any thoughts of a comeback were ended when Chichester scored a final try in the later stages of the game. In a game of few positives the work rate and bravery of Dan Bird earned him the Boars man of the match award.

Boars Team – M. MacLeod, J. Sharp, M. Powderley, P. Hookway, T. Rose, J. Bayley, D. Bird, K. Lewis, D. Rhodes, B. Burdett, J. Wates, D. Hesketh, T. Ralph, B. Harman, N. Newport (S. Hollingdale – 60)

Match Report by Mike MacLeod

10/13/2008 3:39:38 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)     

H&W RFC U14 0 Brighton U14 5

A MORAL VICTORY FOR HEATHFIELD U14s

Heathfield held their first League game of the season in driving rain and miserable playing conditions against a bigger Brighton side. This turned out to be the game of games and Heathfield dominated play for 80% of the game. Only determined Brighton defence stopped the Greens from adding to the scoreboard but the real story was in the grit and determination played by the Heathfield  side that was unfortunate in just not being able to apply the final execution and despite the conditions, their tackling and passing were consistently good

Much of the play was with the forwards and Henry Ross, Jasper Wrenn, Alex Borg, Jamie Wardle and Zak Lamas applied constant pressure on Brighton’s pack, especially when the ball was loose and the result was Heathfield constantly camped in Brighton’s half.

Harry Reilly’s kicking was once again sublime and his boot constantly took Heathfield forwards, relieving any pressure points. Henry Jolliffe’s pace once again was put to good use but the conditions meant he could not use his true speed.

A slipped tackle allowed the big Brighton No8 over to cross the line but this was the only score in an incredibly tight game that saw Brighton finish as the lucky winners!

The game bodes well for Heathfield. Beware, this lot are determined!

10/11/2008 9:52:39 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)