To win at rugby you generally need to have the ball and Heathfield were duly well beaten by Charlton Park who dominated possession chiefly through the scrummage with their much larger front five.
Conditions were ideal on a sunny day with little breeze and the pitch looking good. Heathfield were under early pressure and it needed some committed defence to deny the visitors in the first few minutes as they pressed into the left hand corner. It took until near the end of the first quarter for Park to open the scoring as good scrum ball was worked right and then switched back for an effective finish in the left hand corner. Their next try followed a few minutes later from turned over ball at the scrum (0-12).
Heathfield were enjoying some good passages of play with the back division looking keen to run at the opposition with what little ball was available and in that part of the contest there was little between the teams.
After a Park penalty extended their lead things went wrong for the home side as first Will Tyler collected a yellow card, taking one for the team as the penalty count had risen against Heathfield. Then two minutes later Shrek Watkins was binned for scrummage malpractice. He was trying to deal with Terry Reid who is probably four stone heavier, has played several levels higher and who also knows how to sweet-talk referees.
Playing two men short is difficult so it was no surprise when Park collected their third try in the last play of the half with a short range dive from a breakdown under the posts (0-20).
In spite of the difference in numbers Heathfield opened the scoring in the second half with a Lucas Cuming penalty and they were looking distinctly lively with ball in hand. However this was disrupted as Tom Glenn was binned for a dangerous tackle just as Will Tyler was returning from his enforced rest. This time Park did take advantage of the imbalance of numbers with two quick tries.
However Heathfield, still two men short, then scored a most heartening try as Ed Koops made a big run (which may have included a dummy?) before good support carried play into the corner under the balcony and Dan Jones finished bravely (8-41).
The rest of the game followed the same pattern with Park continuing to score tries based on solid set piece possession while Heathfield looked dangerous with what little ball they did achieve. One of the most effective Park players was their mature second row Mark Harlow-Singh who is not only a major force as a ball carrier but also makes excellent offloads.
In fact Heathfield should have collected at least one more try when successive phases took the ball into the top right corner drawing the defence in but the cross kick to two Heathfield players standing wide and unmarked just went dead.
The Heathfield coaches afterwards acknowledged the major issue facing the team in the set piece and especially the disparity in size that they face against many teams. However they were much heartened by the great spirit shown by the whole team: to score a try when two men short was very pleasing.
This was a difficult baptism of fire for debutant Marcellous Edmunds and he did well with limited opportunities while Jez Burdett also made his first appearance at this level off the bench continuing his family’s fine record for the club.
Will Tyler was man of the match and as a relative novice he is making an increasing impact with some useful runs and committed work. Others who were picked out by the coaches were Koops who did well in the unfamiliar role of number 8, Ethan Walker, Cuming, Shay Smith and Jones. Ollie Stables accurate throwing helped to secure some lineout possession in spite of playing with a damaged wrist. Skipper Munch May showed his usual commitment and had his hands full against an experienced and wily opposite number.
After a week’s rest Heathfield next visit Gravesend for the first time in the history of the two clubs (17 Nov 2.30).