Heathfield 15 Cranbrook 21
Great pics by Roger Cuming
Unbeaten league leaders Cranbrook just edged past Heathfield in this Counties 1 Kent league match after a low key first half was followed by an incident packed second period.
Conditions were initially good with a slight breeze adown the slope and the pitch being a little tacky but with a good covering of grass. There was a very decent crowd of supporters from both clubs for what is always a good contest between these near neighbours.
Cranbrook had first use of the slope and initially had some possession in the home 22 but gradually Heathfield worked their way back upfield and most of the game was in the middle of the pitch with a good deal of kicking from which neither side benefitted significantly.
At first the home scrummage looked to be in trouble as they were almost pushed off their own ball in the first scrum. However this situation was gradually stabilised and although often under pressure home put in was normally secured, thanks in part to some sterling work by skipper Gus Taylor at the base. This was tight head prop Tommy Buck’s first game at this level so it was no surprise that it took a little while for him to build the necessary relationship with the rest of the pack. Buck did some decent work in the loose and he can become a useful member of the front row unit.
At the end of the first quarter Cranbrook had a penalty chance but it drifted wide. A few minutes later Heathfield did the same. However this was the start of a good period of play for the home side. Scrum ball was worked wide right and at first it looked as though Max Redman had squeezed in at the corner under the balcony. However the visitor’s touch judge eventually raised his flag and the try was denied. One of Roger's excellent pics captures that moment and it looks a very close call.
Cranbrook secured the resulting lineout but excellent Heathfield pressure kept them pinned in their own 22. Then another good attacking scrum provided a chance in the left hand corner but the final pass went astray.
Just after the half hour Heathfield finally took the lead with a Toby Simpson penalty which was fair reward for sustained pressure. However the best was yet to come with one of the best tries that Heathfield have scored. Good lineout ball was driven on and eventually Dylan Eames burst out of the maul, breaking a couple of tackles, before being stopped near the visitors’ 5m line. However quick ruck ball was worked wide right and this time Redman had a simple finish.
In the last minutes of the half Heathfield had another chance after a Cranbrook attack was turned over and run back initially by Ben Irwin. The outside backs seemed to be lining up in the left hand corner for an easy score but white line fever struck and the chance was ruined.
Cranbrook are unbeaten this season so it was no surprise that they started the second half strongly. A couple of penalties allowed them to establish a good attacking position and a lineout catch and drive looked threatening but was just contained by the home defence. They did work the ball wide left but suffered the same fate as Heathfield’s attack in that corner and the final, probably scoring, pass went to ground.
However the penalties were now piling up against the home side, not always for reasons that were understood by them, so it was unsurprising when Sam Crichton was binned for some malpractice at the breakdown. More Cranbrook pressure on the home try line was generally contained by stout defence but yet more penalties produced another home yellow, this time for Eames. With a two man advantage Cranbrook finally opened their score moving the ball right for a simple overlap.
In spite of the numerical advantage Cranbrook were briefly pinned back in their own 22 and Heathfield had a promising attack into the bottom right hand corner.
Bursts of rain punctuated the rest of the contest which made handling increasingly difficult. Cranbrook gradually worked their back into the home 22 but the home defence did remarkably well to prevent any score given the numerical disadvantage.
Crichton and then Eames rejoined the contest but Cranbrook still had momentum and now scored two quick tries which effectively decided the game. First Fabian Rimmer burst through a couple of tackles to dive under the posts. Then as Heathfield started to build a promising attack the ball was turned over and a long kick was fielded by Simpson. His attempted clearance kick was charged down and retrieved for a soft score, giving the visitors a 8-21 lead.
With fifteen minutes remaining there was still time for Heathfield to retrieve the situation and indeed they had the better of most of the rest of the game.
There was a brief pause at this point as the referee needed treatment from a physio but thankfully he was able to continue. After damaging the referee in our game against Thanet it would have been unfortunate to have another match stopped early for this reason.
Heathfield were now playing with urgency and pressuring the visitors. With just a few minutes left on the clock Sean Crozier finally managed to work his way over from broken play and the Simpson conversion at least gave Heathfield a losing bonus point.
With the clock against them Heathfield need a converted try to snatch the result. By now wet ball was making handling tricky and a couple of promising attacks duly broke down. Archie Adam had one excellent run and Jack Brown thought he had scored in the left hand corner after decent all team handling but again the visitors’ touch judge denied the score.
This was a game that Heathfield could have won but Cranbrook took their chances better on the day. Both sides back rows did well with Jack Lamb being particularly noted for Cranbrook and Jem MacVicker and Tom Cornwall for Heathfield.
It was good to hear later that Heathfield Rangers had a convincing 5-79 away win against Crawley II. A thriving second team is essential to support the first team and develop players.
Next week Heathfield entertain old rivals Folkestone (29 Oct 3.00)