Pulborough 14 Heathfield 23
Pictures by Roger Cuming
Heathfield eventually overcame a spirited Pulborough team in an entertaining contest in which yet again Heathfield overcame a half time deficit.
The game was preceded by a minute’s silence in memory of Jack Jeffrey who died last weekend when playing for Evesham RFC.
Pulborough had first use of the conditions with a serious breeze and rain into the bottom corner. They duly pressed into the right hand side through several phases but Fraser Goatcher made the first of his significant contributions on the day with a steal in the tackle and Heathfield were able to work their way back up field.
The visitors’ pack was immediately into gear with effective driving and support with the ball occasionally being released. Sam Williams on the right wing had a couple of promising darts along the line but the cover proved adequate.
Heathfield achieved good position in the home 22 and chose to tap a penalty from which Goatcher rumbled over in a heap of bodies.
Pulborough charged back and secured good field position with a massive 50:22 kick out of defence by their fly half Simon Burfield. A relatively simple penalty kick soon followed as fair reward.
However Heathfield were building momentum in the forwards and combined with an edge in the scrummage they were soon back in the home 22. Solid scrum possession was then worked through several phases before Dylan Eames worked his way over near the posts, duly converted by Sean Crozier.
At this point in the game with 15 minutes remaining in the first half and Heathfield having scored two good tries through an effective forward operation the result might have seemed a formality. However this is a resilient Pulborough team who have had several close contests against teams in the top half of the table and they were not at all daunted.
Using the conditions well they pressed into the visitors’ half and converted one of two penalty chances to keep them in touch at 6-12.
Pulborough improved on this situation with one of the tries of the season by any team. They were stuck on their own 22 when fly half Burfiend chipped over the defence and the ball was recovered before good hands and pacy support saw a try in the bottom left hand corner.
Heathfield winger Williams was involved in tackling back on the try line in this score but his verbal contribution to the referee over the validity of the score received the inevitable and correct yellow card. This also resulted in a penalty to Pulborough from the restart and Frazer Oliphant-Hope impressively knocked this over from just inside his own half for a half time score of 14-12.
Dion Comerford had to retire for injury and was replaced by Lucas Cuming making a welcome return from long term injury.
At half time the rain appeared to be easing but the wind was still a strong factor now in Heathfield’s favour. Nonetheless the home scores towards the end of the first half had the feeling of a shift in momentum in the contest.
This was reflected during the third quarter as most of the play was in the home half but they managed to retain possession rather better than the visitors so something of a stalemate developed. The home scrummage was under considerable pressure although a change of hooker did temporarily bring some relief.
Pulborough did manage one particularly effective attack up to the visitors’ 22 but a penalty at the breakdown relieved the pressure. This was the home sides’ high point and Heathfield dominated the last few minutes starting with a timely interception by Crozier. The home cover defence just managed to drag him down but he was able to knock over the resulting penalty to put the visitors back in the lead.
The game was effectively decided a few minutes later as the Heathfield pack again developed some good momentum into the bottom corner and skipper Gus Taylor capped his fine all round game by plunging over.
With a six point difference the home side could still have snatched an unlikely win with a long range try and conversion but Heathfield were in no mood to concede this and the game was now all in the home half. Right on time a penalty could have been kicked to the corner with a chance of the bonus point try but Heathfield sensibly chose to take the points and avoid any chance of a Pulborough counter attack.
The Heathfield pack were the dominant force in the game with the scrummage being especially effective as Goatcher, Dan Bird and Reece Webb were generally in control. On another day they would have earned several more penalties at the scrummage but on at least one occasion the referee blew up for safety rather than an offence.
Pulborough were in this game for a long time and their league position does not do justice to their performance. Burfield and Oliphant-Hope were their best performers on the day but respect has to be given to Andrew Bates still plying his trade in the front row somewhere past his 50th birthday.
With a strong pack in front of him Munch May enjoyed his last game for Heathfield with a characteristically gutsy performance, upsetting his opposite number, making tackles and keeping his side going forward. As he moves to Scotland he can look back with pride on at least 15 tries over 170 games in a ten year career with Heathfield 1st team. Presentations were later made in the Heathfield clubhouse.
Next week Heathfield entertain Cranbrook in the postponed match from before Christmas (26 Feb 2.30). This game between the 2nd and 4th in the table will have a big impact on the final placings in the league. There will be a warm Christmassy welcome in the clubhouse before the game with turkey and trimmings for those dining – and a different sort of welcome on the pitch.