Haywards Heath RFC

Heath had come away from Guernsey on a hot October weekend with a losing bonus point from a 17-13 defeat. Saturday’s performance was very different in terms of both weather and outcome. The visitors showed some changes in personnel, but their forwards displayed the same organisation in tight piece and speed to the breakdown that has characterised their performance throughout the season, especially in a winning run that now runs to twelve games. In Guernsey, Heath had shown real resilience in defence, tackling Guernsey around the edges and denying them a platform. That wasn’t the case at home. The visiting forwards were able to establish a solid platform on their own ball in scrum and line out and, with scrum half Malco Barnes orchestrating and Jason Batiste asking questions in the centre, they drove through the gain line around rucks and mauls and in midfield. The first try came from a series of five metre scrums with fullback Luke Sayer entering the line to touch down. He added the extras. Assisted by Heath’s paucity of possession, defensive alignment, one on one tackles and missed touches, Guernsey continued in dominant form. Tries followed regularly, usually from a 5 metre scrum or line out – a number 8 pickup and easy pop to Blair Campbell; a drive and a try under a pile of bodies for prop Simon Sharrott; another number 8 pickup and an easy walk over for Andy Bailey on the right wing; a soft try from a quick tap penalty for number 8 Nick Barton. Sayer converted two. Heath’s only contribution in a one-sided first half were individual forays, usually from Roscoe Atkins, Josh Salisbury, Sam Hill and Huw Jenkins - leading from the front in attack and defence – but usually ending in a penalty or turnover ball to the opposition. 31-0 at half time was as depressing as the weather.

With Jonny Baugh yellow carded at the end of the first half, Heath started the second with fourteen men. Already under the cosh, two further tries put Guernsey into an ominously threatening position. The first came with Baugh off the field. Despite a good hit in midfield Guernsey were able to move the ball wide for Bailey to score his second wide on the right. Anxieties were heightened when Baugh, back on the field and playing in the centre following the departure through injury of Greg Jackson and debutante Tom Thorstensen, was soon off with a broken nose. Ex Colt Sam Maynard, making his debut in the 1st XV, and Ben Davies joined the fray and made an immediately favourable impact. Davies, in particular, exerted impressive control at the base of the scrum and a number of incisive breaks from him and from Josh Salisbury, Heath’s Idlewild man of the match, galvanised the home side. At last Heath took the game to Guernsey, breaking the line and putting themselves in scoring positions. They could not quite cross the white line but at last Heath found the backbone to threaten and Atkins, Salisbury, Hill, Turner, Maynard and Davies all came close. The loss of scrum half Dave Winsor, like Nick Francis now out for a spell with a shoulder injury, added to Heath’s woes. Prescott came on at prop, Jenkins moved to blind side and Drage into the centre but still Heath took the game to Guernsey in the last twenty minutes or so – marred by a turnover and break away from half way finished on the left by Stables with a wide angled conversion from Sayer - and were the dominant side, showing what they can do when they find the spirit.

It was a convincing defeat, but the final quarter of the game at least gave Heath something postive to take into next week’s home encounter with fourth placed Sidcup (KO 2.15 p.m.).

Team
Chris Turner, Huw Jenkins, Rob Printemps, Dan Ferguson, Sam Hill, Sam Drage, Josh Salisbury, Jonny Baugh, Dave Winsor (Jim Prescott, 55), Tim Thorstensen (Sam Maynard, 60), Sam Galbraith,Greg Jackson (Ben Davies, 65), Gareth Quay, Roscoe Atkins, Rob Jackson.