Bromley 33 Heathfield 0
Bromley had a comfortable and deserved bonus point win over Heathfield who struggled at scrum time and failed to exploit opportunities in the first half.
The pitch was in remarkably good condition for the time of year with a generous grass covering a firm surface.
Heathfield had first use of the slope and breeze and soon established good position in the bottom right hand corner. Lineout ball was duly secured and Dylan Eames was launched towards the try line but his feet slipped from under him and the chance was spoiled. This turned out to be the theme of the first half with any number of missed opportunities, particularly in that corner.
Heathfield have been hit by assorted injuries to front row players recently and this resulted in Aaron Stonell making his first appearance at this level with Reece Webb, normally at prop, standing in at hooker. However Heathfield were under pressure in this phase throughout the game and conceded several penalties from it.
After 25 minutes Heathfield did have a long range penalty chance but it drifted wide. Shortly afterwards Bromley advanced into the visitors’ 22 and then turned over a home scrummage which enabled their livewire scrum half to dummy and step his way over for the opening score.
Toby Simpson did have one excellent 50-22 kick which would have provided a good attacking position but another team mate had been in front of the kicker so the chance was ruined. Simpson had a generally good game kicking and some decent runs, albeit missing one kick to the corner which again spoiled a good opportunity.
Towards the end of the half Eames was held up under the home posts and the home number 4 was binned for some malpractice. Bromley had conceded ten penalties in the half so a card was not surprising.
In the final play of the half an attacking scrum again in the bottom corner looked promising but the period ended with another penalty against Heathfield at the scrummage.
Jay Massey-Taylor had earlier replaced Jack Brown who had tweaked his hamstring and now Jeyden Rainbow moved to the flank with Regan Law coming into the second row. Eames was now propping which will have handicapped his efforts elsewhere.
The second period started poorly for the visitors as skipper Gus Taylor was binned for some complicated offence near his own line. Unsurprisingly Bromley then collected a try by their number 8 from a short range scrum.
Just as Taylor was about to return to the action, strong Bromley pressure resulted in Archie Adam being rightly binned for a high tackle.. Bromley duly scored two quick tries, one from a ruined Heathfield scrum and the other with some good running from deep. By now the home scrum was in almost complete control.
Although most of the play was in the visitors half, Heathfield were still contesting fiercely with Eames making one important turnover of an attacking Bromley lineout. Simpson made a huge run from deep but finally had to chip ahead as the cover reached him and the chance was gone. Crichton made decent yards ball in hand throughout the game but generally Heathfield were unable to penetrate the well organised home defence.
Bromley collected their final try with some fine handling from deep, which had been a feature of their game in the second half as they clearly enjoy running at pace down the slope. In the deepening gloom there was just time for Dion Comerford to be binned, reportedly for backchat, before the whistle finally went. The first half had lasted nearly 55 minutes and the second was not far short so next week’s earlier kick off is not too soon.
The result was not surprising given the relative league positions but Heathfield will feel disappointed in that they failed to perform well on the day with errors and multiple missed opportunities especially in the first half.
Nonetheless with most teams in the league now having reached the half way point in the season, Heathfield are sitting in sixth place, with a game in hand. It may be too soon to draw conclusions but it is noteworthy that the top four positions in the league are held by the four South London clubs. Big battalions, deeper player resources?
And in a similar vein, in the league below, Counties 2 Kent, three of the top four positions are held by 2nd XVs from big clubs (Sevenoaks, Canterbury, Sidcup). The top two will be promoted into our league next season.
Next week Heathfield entertain one of the top four when Charlton Park venture into deepest Sussex countryside. In the opening game of the season Park had a comfortable home win over Heathfield who will be keen to put the record straight (3 Dec 2.00).