Edenbridge V Heath

Terrible weather conditions but a great result for Heath who are improving week on week.

As driving sleet and bursts of gale force winds battered the pitch, the Heath boys set to work putting their weeks of game plan drilling into action. Strong, defensive play was rewarded with opportunities to score for both the backs and forwards whilst Edenbridge took advantage of a short dip in concentration in the second half to prove that they were still in the game, but it was too little too late and Heath finished chilly but victorious.

Fast thinking captain, Daniel Grant cheekily snatched the first score of the match with a quick tap off of a penalty and William Goodwin, whose excellent kicking was a feature of the game, reliably knocked it between the posts.

However, it took a while for the Heath boys to find their rhythm and Edenbridge were quick to retaliate but by midway through the first half, Heath forwards were dominating the game. The front 5 were outstanding with strong ball carries, hard tackling, great line outs and scrummaging, Bobby Collins bulldozed his way to a try after picking up from the back of a scrum which William Goodwin converted taking the score to 5-14 at the end of the first half.

At the beginning of the second half, the lads responded to new direction from the coaches drawing the opposition in and then swinging the ball to the wings. The strategy resulted in two great tries from Barney Scott and Mitchell Day whilst some fearless tackling was shown by Lewis Goodall, Tom Roberts, Oliver Owens, Will Ratoff and William Goodwin who flew from the midfield to take an Edenbridge winger out of touch.

The coaches were pleased to see improved focus for the majority of the match but for ten minutes in the second half, fatigue or complacency took hold and Edenbridge immediately took advantage of the slower tackling, finding the try line even at the end of a cold, hard game. A reminder, if one is needed, that the boys need to remain switched on for the full 60 minutes.

Overall feedback from the coaching team was very positive, new positioning is beginning to pay off and the lads are responding well to their direction. Next week's match against Chichester will be a test of just how far they have come as a team, onwards!