Disappointing end to Heathfield season

Heathfield ended their season with something of a rainy anti-climax in this Pappa John South Shield quarter-final as Ashford were too strong up front and scored three tries in each half with just one Heathfield penalty.
Conditions were good with little wind on a well-grassed surface with little significant slope in either direction although regular readers of these reports will not be surprised to hear that I felt that the pitch immediately in front of the clubhouse was below the level of the pitch on the far side. Intermittent rain increased during the game which did not help.
The first scrum gave an indication of how the game would go as the home scrum surged forward and ruined Heathfield ball. The lack of dynamic bulk in the front row has been a significant theme throughout the Heathfield season and on this occasion they were caught out by the larger and experienced home front five which thus kept up the pressure on the visitors.
Soon afterwards Heathfield did just secure the ball from a defensive scrum but the subsequent kick was run back and good hands gave Ashford their first try on the left hand side, well converted. Ten minutes later an Ashford scrum in the visitor's half enabled their fly half to make a nice break which resulted in another try on the left hand side.
At this stage Heathfield were probably not too worried having recently come back from worse situations. As he did throughout the game Dylan Eames was one of the leaders in carrying the game back to Ashford thus putting Heathfield on the front foot.
A resulting Heathfield penalty was just wide but the visitors had some momentum at this point. Toby Simpson produced a fine 50/22 to keep the pressure on the home side and on the half hour a Simpson penalty was a fair reward.
Ashford then had a period of pressure on the visitor’s line that was ended by an important turnover for Harry Slnnhawkins to make a big run down the right hand flank releasing the pressure.
Just before half time Joe Lewis, who had been catching the eye with some strong carries, was now binned following another good carry but was considered to have reacted poorly at the breakdown.
Ashford naturally looked to exploit the extra man and the penalty gave them a good position in the right-hand corner. From the resulting lineout they pressed under the posts (although a knock on was probably missed at this point) and then from a scrum their no 8 was able to muscle his way over for their third try to end the first half. The conversion hit a post but still went over – when it's not your day….
Both side's lineouts worked well with few losses either way and the penalty count was also almost even.
Coach Sam Goatcher started using his bench at half time with Gus Taylor and Will Chambers joining the contest. Also Jayden Rainbow soon made a welcome return to the side when Jay Massey-Taylor had to retire with a painful shoulder injury.
However the fourth home try soon arrived as they pressed home from short range.
The rest of the game is probably best forgotten with the result clear. An outbreak of handbags led to a red card for an Ashford replacement on the touchline when he foolishly joined in.
Ashford picked up two more tries with some clinical handling. Heathfield were trying to play catch up and they continued to show positive intent to the very end. Simpson often had a part in these counter-attacks but he was now red-carded for his poor reaction to a decision at the breakdown following another useful run.
Coach Goatcher was disappointed in the team performance today but there was some strong attitude in the post-game huddle as skipper Dan Bird and other senior players put the focus on next season.
Heathfield wish Ashford well in their next game when they visit Romford & Gidea Park in the semi-final next Saturday. Both clubs will look forward to meeting again in the next league season assuming that there is no major change to the current league structure.
It was a relatively subdued coach journey home – and I would emphasise the word relatively. I was amused to notice a bottle of Mateus Rose among the refreshments – if you wait long enough fashions come around again but there aren’t many of us left who remember and enjoyed (?) that one. There was also a very decent rendering of Heathfield Ranger before the team returned to the clubhouse to mark the end of the season with some refreshment with the always welcoming club steward.