Match Report

Hove 17 - Heathfield & Waldron 42

A hard felt loss against a well structured but very beatable Heathfield side. Much to learn, The game started well for Hove with Ben Nash nimbly picking the ball from the base of a maul to go over for his first try of the season which put Hove 5 - 0 in the lead. A reward for all his previous hard work. After that positive start the game slowly went away from Hove. Heathfield generated much quicker ball from the breakdown which allowed them to play at a higher tempo. Although they were helped on too many occasions by one of their players lying on the wrong side of the ball without being penalised. Hove also failed to make good use of a very strong wind that was in our favour and the game swung to and fro. Hove finished the first half ominously with Heathfield in the lead 14 - 12.

The game was still Hove's to win but our loose play continued into the second half and Heathfield used the elements more intelligently. Hove was still unable to contend with Heathfield quick delivery from the breakdowns. This caused some confusion in our defensive lines and there was a lack of communication which seemed to lead to a lack of trust with the inside man of each player . This created gaps in the centre of the field which Heathfield exploited to great effect. Also the oppositions quick movement to the tackle line prevented Hove from making any momentum and we never found the answer - perhaps deeper attack lines might have helped. It seemed that the forwards were often isolated when calling a hammer ball, this also lead to a number of turnovers which kept us again on the back foot. The backs had some great individual runs from the likes of George, Harvey, Stef, Zach and Stephen but they couldn't quite manage to get it together as a back line or over the try line. During the first half our tackles were very good as we were stopping Heathfield's big players by chopping low. However, in the second half the effects of fatigue showed and we started to grab/go high in the tackle which allowed a few breaks from Heathfield's big players.

Regardless of these difficulties Hove continued to press for tries throughout the game and with a second half attack near to Heathfield's try line and the score Hove 17 - Heathfield 21, a rushed pass was intercepted to give Heathfield a breakaway try and the game then rapidly slipped away. A tremendous tackle by Harvey on Heathfield's winger drove the player nearly 10 metres backwards. If Harvey had kept on driving and had more patience to not dump the player through frustration he would not have been penalised by the referee and Hove would have probably been battling on Heathfield's try line. Shortly afterwards George was slightly unlucky to get a yellow card when a powerful tackle on a Heathfield player just as the player was dropping was judged by the referee to be too high. Harvey's previous penalty may have swayed the referees decision in George's case. Heathfield then capitalised on the one man advantage with 2 quick tries. The game then was beyond Hove's reach. Another lesson to be learnt. The subsequent changes from the bench did not improve matters and heads seem to drop and Heathfield comfortably finished the game 42 - 17. This was somewhat flattering for Heathfield considering the spirit and endeavour of Hove for the majority of the game.

For future work. Our failings throughout the game were a) not looking after the ball in the tackle (too many turn-over's), b) too slow to the break down (too many turn-over's), c) slow ball from the breakdown (no tempo), d)dropping passes under pressure, e) poor tackling in the centre of the field and f) crucial interceptions when we were on the attack.

However a big positive for the players would be the dominance they had at the scrum and line out which lead to a couple of tries. Heathfield had some big players but Hove were technically much better and Juan's throws have greatly improved.

All in all a bad day at the office. Some would say that it was the difference between first and second league Colts rugby. I would say that it is probably a combination of the difference between a team of mainly U17's playing a team of mainly U18's and us having in the past to play against too many weak opponents in the lower league. Although our poor performance in the rucks and continuous turn-over's were noticeable in our recent Bognor game. However in that game we did not suffer the consequences.

Much to learn for the future and you always learn more from your losses than wins. At this age the one year gap in rugby experience can be very telling. Providing we do learn then we have a group of players who can achieve great things. You are the masters of your fate and the captains of your soul (adapted from Invictus by William Ernest Henley).

Try scorers George, Ben and Connor (another first for the score board).

Finally a special mention for Steph who I thought had an outstanding game making several penetrating runs off the wing and through the centre. He should try it more often when he plays in the back row.