Heathfield and Waldron vs Bishop's Stortford U17

Bishop’s Stortford were the next opponents for Heathfield in the Plate run. The Bishop’s are the current RFU Club of the Year; they boast of regularly supplying players for the Hertfordshire County team; they count ex-England International, Ben Clarke as one their own and of course they were beaten in the regional final last year by Heathfield. How would the plucky underdogs from Heathfield perform this time? I’ll tell you with dignity, respect, zeal, grit, and determination but it wasn't enough.

Heathfield were down two players (Will and Dan) who were injured in the previous round but in came Jake as well as U17 players Toby and Fabian.

It was cool day, the pitch had dried out (maybe too much) and there was a bit of a breeze. Heathfield kicked-off but Bishop’s came flying back up the pitch. They continued to edge forward closer to the try line. They were very strong in the scrum but they must have had an extra 70kg of weight behind them – which was way too much for Heathfield. Dare I say it, but this was men against boys. Bishop’s just continued to bulldoze their way forward and finally their LARGE number 3 put down under the posts. The try was converted (0-7).

Heathfield were rattled and kicked the ball straight out from the kick-off. Bishop’s came forward again and the No. 3 got over the line but he was brilliantly held up. Heathfield came back into it but a kick from Sean was caught but the return kick was slightly wild. The ball was fielded by Ed N who evaded the first tackle and looked as though he could run the length of the pitch. Then No. 3 came across and caught Ed high which wasn’t the problem. Ed was probably half the weight of his opponent and went down hard with what was confirmed later as a broken arm. This was probably Heathfield's main chance of making it difficult for the opposition. The Bishop’s player was apologetic but was shown a yellow for the high tackle.

The reporter was then distracted for a while (and not by the Bishop's physio) and it would appear that Bishops’ scored another 4 tries, 2 conversions and 1 penalty to a penalty from Sean C. Also during this time Tom C had to come off with a shoulder injury.

Half Time 3-34 1 pen

The second half started with Bishop’s on the front foot, but Heathfield were getting better in the tackles and the rucks. From a Bishop’s line-out on the 15m line, the fly half spotted a gap and just ran through it score. Conversion made. (3-41)

There was perhaps too much kicking the ball from hand when passing would have been the better option especially as Bishop’s were just running the ball straight back. Heathfield were keeping themselves in the game then Sean took a knock (possibly to the head) so he was taken off as precaution. I think George H came off at the same sort of time with a bashed shin but I can’t be sure. With more swap arounds, Robbie came onto the wing and Ed J went to flanker. Both did pretty well given the circumstances.

Finally Heathfield got some reward for their endeavours. For most of the half they had been passing the ball down the line because trying to go through the middle wasn’t going to work. The ball was down the line, Jake came in at the middle of the line and made a fantastic break through the Bishop’s backline. He looked as though he was going to score but was just tap tackled. Heathfield retained the ball and passed it left where it found Aaron. Let’s be honest, Aaron hasn’t had the happiest of seasons so far, so he made the most of the chance and scored in the corner (although as the game finished he appeared to have hurt his shoulder as well). Fabian missed the conversion. (8-41)

This just gee’d Bishop’s up and as the Heathfield team tired, Bishop’s just rolled on and scored three tries one after another. (8-58)

Final Score 8-58

Try Scorer: Aaron, 1 pen from Sean and 0 conversion.

This Bishop’s Stortford team were big. When TdB looks scrawny in comparison, you know you’re in trouble. This wasn’t a dirty game but our already small team were just overwhelmed and the injuries to our players have shown that.

On a positive note, Heathfield are one place above Bishop Stortford in the Pitchero Club “league”.

We now have 3 more games left in the season, so hopefully the lads who haven’t been playing regularly will get a chance to start.