It was a beautiful day on which to start the rugby season although it was slightly easier watching it than playing it. The game was to be played in 4 quarters which allowed both sides to give game time to all their players.

It was good see the familiar faces of the U17 and the not so familiar names or faces of the U18. MacKenzie and Tom T decided to confuse the reporter by wearing matching hats, sorry scrum caps. Even close up it was difficult to distinguish between the two of them. There were also two Ollie Gs on show today.

The game started well with both teams putting in good hard tackles. Obviously pre-season training had gone well. Heathfield made use of a couple of good line-outs and looked superior to TW. Another good line-out from H on the 5m line and it looked as though a rolling maul was going to result in a try but the referee spotted an infringement. TW kicked to the 15m touch for their line-out. Despite the thrown in being far from straight, George H leapt like the gangly spider that he is and stole the ball. It was quickly played down the line and good ground was made. The ball was then passed back up the other way to Tom T, who then passed to the right winger – yes the right winger. In all our previous games the ball had never got that far. I was reliably informed (by his mother, after I convinced her that I was DBS certified and that I’m fairly harmless) that the right winger was Sam C who surged past the last man and scored under the posts. The conversion was made by Toby W (which I believe stands for Wallace rather than Who?, which is the response I got from most people) (0-7)

The game continued to ebb and flow with neither side giving the other much space. Ryan, Kenzie and Tom T were giving TW a hard time with some very good driving runs, which they continued to do through the whole game. Towards the end of the quarter TW pushed forward and put H under pressure but when the ball was chipped over the top, Storkey came round a cleared with a good kick to touch.

Quarter Time (0-7) 1 try, 1 conversion

With the second quarter there were changes by both side but I’m not sure whom swapped with whom. TW continued where they had finished the last quarter and they were camped in the Heathfield half. They finally got over for a try but they missed the conversion. (5-7)

Heathfield came back into game. There was good work again from the forwards which made it easier for the backs. The ball got to Jake and he made a penetrating run which had TW all of a dither. He got the pass away to Tom T who ran around the defence and managed to get down under the posts. Toby S converted. (5-14)

Jake made another good run but this time there was no support. This was usually the role that Harry would fill, maybe he wasn’t on the pitch, maybe his floppy hair got in his eyes. Anyway other players need to spot these breaks and support the player. The rest of the period got a bit scrappy and the quarter fizzled to its conclusion.

Half Time (5-14) 1 try, 1 conversion

Not much happened in this quarter. Ryan and Kenzie made some good forward drives. TW were starting to kick the ball to clear their lines. One high ball was caught by Toby W and he just ran back through the TW ranks but was stopped short – a sign of things to come? There was some good defensive work from Heathfield as TW pushed over the line but the ball was held up. With the quarter still scoreless, the referee announced “last play” with TW in possession. They decided to kick from their own try line but only found Toby W, who successfully ran from the beyond the halfway and touched down. Such was his speed and movement, I don’t think anyone from TW got close to making a challenge let alone making a tackle. Toby S converted. (5-21)

Three Quarter Time (5-21) 1 try, 1 conversion

The fourth quarter was a demolition with the two sides being hopelessly mismatched. Heathfield were on top for the whole period and scored so many that I lost sight of who did what and where. Toby S made a forward run and with an overlap passed to George M who had to just fall over the line to score. Toby W ruined a perfect scoring day by missing the conversion. To be fair it was from a difficult angle. (5-26)

Nothing could stop Heathfield now, Toby S managed to rip the ball out of the hands of a TW plater, passed to Teddy (or was it Felix) who came close but got the ball away to Tom T, who then scored under the posts. Toby S converted. (5-33)

Next it was Kenzie, who made a fantastic 40 yard run and with Ed N for support they got close to the line. Tom C pounced on the loosed ball and was over the line but referee called it back for a penalty to Heathfield. From this penalty Sam scored. The conversion was kicked by possibly one of the Tobys. (5-40)

Tom C finally got his try by scoring in the corner and again the conversion was kicked by someone. This seemed to galvanise TW (finally) and they actually got into the Heathfield half. Unfortunately TdB got the ball and bashed his way through the opposition. A quick pass to Storkey who was caught but he managed to offload to Toby W, who scored. Toby W converted. (5-54)

Full Time (5-54) 8 tries, 7 conversions Try scorers Sam (2), Tom T (2), Toby Who (2), Tom C, George M

The last game of the previous season was against TW and the lads got spanked 40-14, so today was a good turn around. Of course the result means that TdB, Storkey, Jake and Harry had the bragging rights at school the following day. The downside is that there are a lot more of the Skinners TW players and I expected that at least one of the 4 was left hanging by his underpants from the school flagpole. My betting was on Harry as he is the smallest and the gobbiest.

Lastly a special mention to the best player in our team who was playing his first game since breaking his arm. Good to see Ed come to no harm. Of course rumour has it Harrison W will be playing for the opposition next week so expect carnage.