H&W RFC Colts vs Aylesford RFC Colts

Heathfield & Waldron RFC Colts v Aylesford Bulls Colts – 3rd November 2019
Result: 21-5 (win for Heathfield)

A bright and sunny Sunday morning met the teams at the Hardy Roberts Recreational Ground at Cross-in-Hand after a wild and hair-raising night of weather. Flies drifted lazily in unexpected warmth over the lush grass of the pitch, and whilst most of the well-drained pitch remained firm underfoot, there were one or two patches which told the story of Saturday’s torrential downpours: one almost expected a wisp of snipe to rise in startled manner there as the two teams warmed up. Back in the clubhouse and after the dramas of the previous day’s rugby in a distant land, a few doleful faces were noted to be quietly sidling away from the one triumphant South African accent that could be overheard. Those with fading accents from other places wisely kept their own counsel.
Once the match kicked off with Heathfield playing away from the clubhouse end, all of this was soon forgotten. Good early phase play from the home side showed their growing esprit de corps – Ollie Carr, Jack Flint, and Oli Tooke all drove hard at the opposition forwards. Clean ball from the ensuing rucks, with Heathfield’s back row working effectively, allowed the backs to be released and only a splendid cover tackle prevented Jon Beaton from diving over in the left-hand corner.
Pressure was maintained though, and although the cautious might have opted for a shot at goal when a penalty was awarded under the Bulls’ posts, a quick tap was taken. Matt Anthony neatly scooped up and flicked on a loose pass in the move that followed, allowing George Hayter to loop, fend and then barge over in the right-hand corner. Reilly curled in an impressive conversion from the touch line to leave the score at 7-0 after the opening ten minutes.
The next fifteen minutes summed up much of the game’s even nature: Bulls battered hard at the Heathfield defence, with the main danger coming from runners in a powerful midfield: in reply Cameron Reader demonstrating his typical ‘pocket rocket’ bravery in tackling those threats who were considerably larger than he. Heathfield held out in what was fast becoming their most coherent and united performance of the season thus far, and back they came to ask similar questions of their opponents’ defence. In a move right from a central scrum, Reilly’s dropping pass was volleyed on the hoof through by Luca Rosenberg: the ball stuck on the damp turf underneath the Aylesford posts with Rosenberg following through to slide and touch-down past a wrong-footed defence. Reilly converted: 14-0.
Having received some blunt, clear and animated advice from the lyrical Kildare tongue of their coach under their own posts, Aylesford once again upped their game. Good darts from their scrum-half, who posed an intelligent threat all match, gave them field position and an opportunity for their inside centre to blast athletically through a couple of muddy tackles to score on the left just before half-time: 14-5.

The second half followed a similar pattern: Ollie Carr continued to have an outstanding game in line-out, loose play and covering defence for Heathfield, and Archie Adam offered an abrasive presence and running challenge all game at scrum-half. Sam Tiley, Brad Scott and Ellis Wilson all carried the ball well into contact, with their side’s accuracy at the ruck generally a notch better than their opponents; James Stevens did all the unseen work in the close quarters necessary for his side on such a day, and Finn Scott-Taggart jinked across the muddied surface seeking gaps where there appeared to be none - until he went through them. Tom Reilly offered a calm and controlling perspective at outside-half, and kicked wisely throughout the seventy minutes; his raking touch-finders under pressure did much to maintain his side’s morale. It was also noticeable that Heathfield’s standards and commitment did not drop when their replacements came on in this second period: Sam Walley spoiled and scrapped hard at the breakdown, Angus Paterson made crucial tackles in the midfield, Harry Isbitt covered well in difficult conditions, and Jack Durnell almost rounded off a miracle move in the left-hand corner. When another scrum move released Kieran Dudgeon, now on the right wing, to scamper down the touchline with ten minutes to play, the resulting well-secured ruck gave Rosenberg the opportunity to slide through a gap for his second try and effectively secure the win by 21 points to five. The well-contested match ended fittingly with both sides striving hard in the middle of the pitch.

Team:
1. Ollie Tooke; 2. George Hayter; 3. Brad Scott; 4. Jack Flint; 5. Ellis Wilson; 6. Sam Tiley; 7. James Stevens (c); 8.Ollie Carr; 9. Archie Adam; 10. Tom Reilly; 11. Jon Beaton; 12. Luca Rosenberg; 13. Cam Reader; 14. Matt Anthony; 15. Finn Scott-Taggart
Replacements:
16. Jack Durnell (20) for Brad Scott; 17. Sam Walley (55) for Sam Tiley; 18. Harry Isbitt (35) for Jon Beaton; 19. Kieran Dudgeon (55) for Matt Anthony; 20. Angus Paterson (55) for Cam Reader

Scores:
10 mins: Heathfield – try (George Hayter) and conversion (Tom Reilly): 7-0
27 mins: Heathfield – try (Luca Rosenberg) and conversion (Tom Reilly): 14-0
33 mins: Aylesford – try: 14-5
60 mins: Heathfield – try (Luca Rosenberg) and conversion (Tom Reilly): 21-5
Full-time score: 21-5