Heathfield duly collected the bonus point win over Charlton Park that the respective league positions had suggested was likely. In spite of a decent crowd of supporters from both sides the game somehow lacked intensity and the outcome was rarely in doubt.
The journey to South London proved more eventful than usual. Somewhere near Eltham an oncoming driver managed to roll his car into the path of our coach but our driver was alert to the situation and collision was avoided. However the blocked road meant that the team had to walk the two miles to the Charlton Park ground. Not ideal game preparation on a warm day – the kick off was slightly delayed.
Thankfully the pitch had a reasonable grass covering and was in very decent condition considering the recent lack of rain. A slight wind across the pitch was not a significant factor. Nonetheless it was a firm surface and on a warm day there were multiple injury and water breaks.
An early penalty gave Park an attacking opportunity in the left hand corner but this was contained and a promising counter-attack developed into the home 22. Not for the first time against Heathfield, Park skipper Reion Raybe showed his skill by making a great turnover in the tackle to spoil the opportunity: Raybe has often been a thorn in Heathfield’s side and this veteran is still a very effective player.
Overall Heathfield were having the better of the game but were failing to finish. Park were occasionally looking dangerous on the counter-attack but were generally contained. Some good hands ended with Harry Westgate losing control as he crossed the line. Another useful move was halted in the shadow of the posts but some incautious words produced a penalty which allowed the home side to clear their lines.
Finally towards the end of the first quarter Heathfield built up more pressure and this time George Hayter made no mistake from short range, duly converted by Toby Simpson.
Park soon replied as solid lineout ball was moved into midfield for Raybe to make a clean break and good support ended with a try on the left hand side. Both sides were looking to move the ball whenever possible. Simpson was heavily involved in the next try as he cut infield to link well with Horatio Hellewell and soon afterwards as the ball was recycled before Sam Walley worked his way over in the left hand corner to continue his remarkable scoring achievements this season.
Just after the half hour a Park kick out of defence was run back by Simpson who this time found Zac Coxen who then put Liam Dunkley into the right hand corner.
With the score starting to look ominous for the home side, they fought back to collect their second try from a short range tap penalty.
However this was soon answered by Heathfield’s bonus point try as a penalty produced an attacking lineout in the left hand corner and Sam Walley was driven over for his second on the day.
The half time score of 12-24 was a fair reflection of the game thus far. Neither side dominated the set piece and the scrum in particular was often messy and unsatisfactory.
Park had the slight slope to come in their favour but they didn’t have enough secure possession to make much use of it. They did start the half brightly and were adjudged to have knocked the ball on diving into the right hand corner.
Towards the end of the third quarter the ball reached Simpson in broken play on the half way line and he needed no encouragement to run through some despairing tackles for a fine solo try. The next try came from solid scrum ball and a break by Ben Irwin gave Harry Slinnhawkins all the space he needed on the right hand side.
Park were then handicapped by a yellow for their fly half. The visitors duly took advantage with Slinnhawkins on the end of some good hands before Dylan Eames muscled his way over under the posts from short range and the conversion brought up the fifty points.
To their credit Park had the last word as they pressured the visitors line and Jasper Folkes was binned for an allegedly dangerous clearout. Soon afterwards they worked their way over from an attacking lineout, some small consolation to end their disappointing season which will see them relegated to Counties 2 Kent. Heathfield have always enjoyed excellent relations with Park on and off the pitch. A few seasons ago we were relegated but have bounced back so we will look forward to renewing acquaintances on Broad Walk within a couple of years.
Coach Sam Goatcher afterwards mentioned Chris Baker-Butler, Zac Coxen, Harry Westgate at inside centre for the first time and Ollie Tooke for a full 80 minutes – there were probably others but it was noisy social situation so I probably missed some important names.
Heathfield finish the season in third place in Counties 1 Kent, a hair’s breadth behind Deal & Betteshanger. Games involving Gillingham Anchorians have had an impact on Heathfield’s place in the league this season and the bizarre result today from Deal just continued that pattern. Nonetheless third place in this league is the highest position that Heathfield have ever achieved in the RFU league structure so the whole squad and coaching team have much of which to be proud.
The final game of the season is the Bob Rogers Cup Final against Hove on 29 May at Uckfield.