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Match Reports
Club Pages
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Monday, June 28, 2010
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It gladdened the heart to see a group of rugby players gather outside the H&WRFC clubhouse on a grey morning in June. Several were associated with the current first team and more had experience with the Sussex RFU or the club second teams. Sadly this was ‘The Lost Boys’ tour so these associations were mostly in coaching roles or in the far distant past. Had it not been for the last minute recruitment of Tom ‘Ned’ Keylock and Jeremy ‘My father made me’ Burdett the average age would have been close to 50 (as it was the range was 18 to 60, which is unusually wide for a veteran’s tournament). As it was the party was brightened up by the presence of Robin Hood and Rob Roy as tour mascots.
This being Britain the Eurotunnel was broken and subject to a two hour delay which meant that a well lubricated group arrived in Belgium to a warm reception from our host ‘Rugby Coq Mosan’ based in Berneau near Lieges. Tents were erected whilst tourists were still capable of rational thought and the ‘tour organisers’ quickly hid the BBQ and sold the sausages and bacon when they discovered that the weekend was fully catered for by the hosts. Belgium is famous for its beer and a great variety, and some say a great quantity was downed by the four teams in residence (the hosts, ourselves, Bergamo from Italy and some French visitors from Lorient in Brittany).
The French looked surprised that Heathfield had travelled with 15 front row
The crowing of the resident cockerel was not welcome at 6 am but no-one was able to get up and kill it so the party slumbered on until near game time (about 10 minutes before in the case of Jeremy ‘Free Beer Guzzler’ Burdett.
The tournoi was a 5 team round robin affair (Rugby Olympic Cambrai joined in after a 3 hour coach trip from France) held on the host clubs two pitches. A minute of silence was observed as a Rugby Coq Mosan club member had taken his own life only that week and the whole club was in mourning for their loss.
First up for Heathfield were the Cambrai team. Safe to say that our pre match plan (take it steady and keep it close to the forwards) was ignored as the ball was spun around leaving big holes for the grateful French to exploit. Twenty minutes and two converted tries and a penalty to the French later we were beginning to get an idea about the game to play.
About we started to hear Dave Jones utter his favourite phrase on tour. This was “Fellows! What happened to the rolling subs you promised me?”
The lost boys look content to let their talented back row take the next hit.
Last years champions Lorient were next up and that was a more comfortable game. We played steadily without scoring and they twice beat us out wide when we ran out of bodies in defence. The highlight was when Dave Jones showed that he knows how to sidestep and break a line, if only once a game these days, and the low point was when our youngest tourist ‘Ned Keylock’ buggered up his ankle. A few smiles and positive comments set us up for the game against the Italians.
Ned said this was a good game to watch and it must have been as it was end to end old man rugby. Half way through the first half stand in scrum half Brady Burdett called a backs move that worked (shock, horror, probe!). A scrum on halfway saw the ball spun wide to Simon ‘Big boys can run’ Hollingdale as he hit the line at full tilt, broke one tackle and avoided another to cross the line for a try that Burdett the younger converted. Shortly after came the surprise of the tour when most of the Lost Boys team stood waiting for an Italian score as three backs broke away faced only by two props and a winger. Gale hit the first, MacLeod scared the second and Lester not once but twice tackled the third leading to a Heathfield scrum after a knock on just over the try line. This led to Heathfield being 7-0 up at half time.
Ben "it was the food honestly" Western looks to break another joint
Burdett the younger knocked over a penalty early in the second half only for the Italians to come straight back to score an unconverted try. Seven minutes is a long time when defending a narrow lead but The Lost Boys dug deep and kept the Italians out to win 10-5.
The final game against the hosts turned out to be a half too far. A close first half saw Coq Mosan score first with a well worked converted try before Brady Burdett pulled out the old dummy to a new and appreciative audience and then allowed Burdett the Younger to convert. Sadly that was as good as it got. Tired limbs and lots of home substitutes saw two more converted tries and a penalty go against the Lost Boys before the final whistle blew for ‘beer o clock’.
What do you mean it's rolling subs.........Fellows!!!!
As we dressed for the evening a vote was held to decide ‘Dress for the Evening’. Was it to be Mike ‘Nearly my Stag Do’ Barber or George ‘I missed my surprise 60th Birthday party to come on tour’ Warren? Photographs prove that it was a regal looking Georgina Warren that wore the red dress that night (with fetching green tights and rugby socks). Some sources say that he really liked what he felt that night.
George looking surprisingly comfortable?
On to an evening of drinking, singing and general revelry. The Harveys Sussex Best went down well, the French brought ‘attitude’, the Italians brought cheese, wine and salami while the Belgians suggested there were a hundred more beers we had not sampled yet. A great evening was topped off by a BBQ at 6 pm for survivors only. Sadly the cockerel was not on the menu.
And then back to Blighty with a detour to Calais for a long and very satisfying lunch.
Report : Mike Macleod
Lost Boys Squad – Paul Squires (International guest star) , Mike MacLeod (2nd team 2002), Steve Lester (1st team 1990), Simon Walker (2nd team 2002), Dale Blackford (too young), Dave Jones (1st team coach), Bob Togher (2nd team 2008), Kenny Lewis (2nd team 2005), Tom Keylock (too young), Brady Burdett (1st team 1990), Mike Barber (who knows), Ben Weston (too young), Robin Gale (Sussex Ladies coach), Simon Hollingdale (2nd team 2006), Jeremy Burdett (too young), Mike Fellows (1st team 2003), Rob ???? (tour virgin), George Warren (too old to remember), Wayne ‘No Knees’ Prichard (1st team coach)
4th XV | Latest News
6/28/2010 10:35:17 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00) 
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Sunday, May 02, 2010
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Five Sussex Under 18 girls, Deborah Harwood, Megan Lavill (Reds) Cassie Larcombe,Zoe Joslin and Nina Crowther (Blues), were selected for the second round of the Junior Super Cup held at Lilleshall National Sports Centre, Newport, Shropshire, on 1st and 2nd of May.
The aim of the Junior Super Cup is to provide high quality, high intensity competition for the best Under 18s players in the country.
All five Sussex girls played really well in an evenly matched game. The reds went ahead with a converted try before the blues scored two unconverted tries giving a score of Reds 7 - Blues 10 at half time. The blues started the second half with a prolonged period of attack which the reds managed to hold. The reds then, through their forwards, managed to score a try and have another one held up. Another attacking period for the Blues saw them score another unconverted try. The reds forwards had the last say with another push over try under the posts which was converted. Final score Reds 19 - Blues 15.
H3 Girls | Latest News
5/2/2010 12:24:03 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Sunday, April 25, 2010
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In their final league game of the season the U18 H3 girls faced very tough opposition from Rochford at Heathfield on Sunday. Needing one more victory to win the league the visitors from Essex were clearly confident that they could overturn the early season defeat at the hands of a much younger H3 side, but the home team had other ideas and tries from Mary Cunningham and Debs Harwood saw the home team take an early lead in the first quarter. As H3 attempted to come to terms with Rochford’s more aggressive style of play, the visitors got back into the game and at the break had a narrow 19 –20 lead. A try from Nina Crowther and 2 conversions by Laura Baker kept the gap to the smallest possible margin.
In the second half the H3 girls were more confident in their counter rucking and challenging for the loose ball and by using the full width of the pitch made maximum use of their very fast back line who were able to get through the visitors defence for more breakaway tries from Alice Sheffield and Nina Crowther (2) The forwards had a very tough afternoon keeping a much taller and heavier Rochford pack in check but held their own magnificently at every lineout and scrum with their experienced front row supported by two “volunteers” who usually play with the backs, making up the second row. Debs Harwood added points with two conversions but when Rochford scored a try with the last play of the game the final score of 38 – 40 went in favour of the visiting team.
The U15 and U18 H3 girls now go on to play in a series of festivals starting with the Worthing 10’s on Sunday and culminating with the National 7’s at the end of May.
Match report Bridget Baker
H3 Girls | Latest News
4/25/2010 5:39:23 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010
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4 Sussex Under 18 girls, Deborah Harwood (H3), Cassie Larcombe, Megan Lavill and Nina Crowther (H3), were selected for the first round of the Junior Super Cup
The aim of the Junior Super Cup is to provide high quality, high intensity competition for the best Under 18s players in the country.
The match on Sunday was a fast and furious affair with tremendous defensive work from both sides. All of the girls showed good passing and tackling skills The red team eventually ran out winners 17 - 0 with Debs scoring a try.
H3 Girls | Latest News
4/20/2010 6:51:11 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
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Under 15s match reports can now be found on the new H&W RFC Junior
website
Under 14s match
reports can now be found on the new H&W RFC Junior website. You can
navigate to the new website by right clicking on the link below and opening in
a new window, or new tab.
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/handwrfc/
Junior teams
will revert back to this website when it is re-launched at the start of the
2010 – 2011 season.
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