Men's 1st XV
Matches
Sat 07 May 2016
Horsham Rugby Club
26
20
Hove Rugby Club
Men's 1st XV
Tries: B Flavell, S Whiting, L TorresConversions: P DugardPenalties: P Dugard
The Bob Rogers Cup Final

The Bob Rogers Cup Final

Cameron Robertson10 May 2016 - 19:10
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Hove fall short in Cup Final

Hove vs. Horsham (N)

News broke on Sunday that Heathfield had pulled out of the semi-final and Horsham were due to be on tour on the date of the final. Given this the final was brought forward in order for the whole competition not to be scrapped.

On a beautiful Sussex afternoon Hove made the short trip to Lewes to take on Horsham in the Bob Rogers Cup. Horsham had early in the season embarrassed Hove 53-14 at the Rec. and won a close encounter 12-7 in the return fixture so form was on their side. However in any sport, everyone knows that form goes out the window in a cup final!

Hove were the fastest out of the blocks and after a good box kick from Rob Biggs, the resultant pass from the Horsham 9 to his half back partner was knocked on giving Hove a great set piece opportunity. Strong lines of running from the backs saw the ball eventually find its way into Boyd Flavell’s hands who glided in from 15 yards. Conversion missed, but Hove had made the perfect start 5-0.

Hove continued to attack; Martin Macdonald made a strong break in midfield however his pass failed to find the supporting Sam Whiting and was adjudged to have been knocked on by the Horsham full back. A Ryan Morlen chip and chase nearly ended in a score, however the ball was kicked dead and Hove had all the momentum.

Phil Dugard had a drop goal just fall short before Horsham got into the game through a strong carry by their number 7. From a Horsham lineout, a great line from the blindside flanker gained good yards. The momentum was carried on through the forwards before the ball was offloaded to the fly-half to score. He converted his own try to take the score to 5-7.

As Hove had done regularly in the second half of the season after conceding they responded immediately. A scything break from Guy Patton in midfield found Sam Whiting on his shoulder who held off two defenders before crossing the whitewash. Phil Dugald with the extras, 12-7.

Hove continued to press and looked to get the ball wide at every opportunity, however after Mike Robinson had picked up at the base of the ruck, the ball was stolen like a thief in the night from his hands. A desperate last ditch tackle from Martin Macdonald wasn’t enough as the full-back offloaded inside to the supporting runner to score. Conversion dragged wide and the scores were tied 12-12.

The half time whistle came with the scores level, with Horsham feeling the most satisfied after the Hove onslaught.
Hove continued where they left off in the first half, strong carries from Adrian Shergold and Ian William forced a penalty 35m out, a quick tap from Rob Biggs forced the Horsham defenders to not retreat the full 10m, giving Hove an attempt at a more kickable penalty which Phil Dugald took 15-12.

A great take from the restart from Carl Buckland allowed Hove to continue their attack. Great phases from the forwards allowed Boyd Flavell to jink past three defenders and offload to Rob Biggs. As he tried to out run the covering defence a delightful inside flick pass found Luke Torres to go in for the score. Phil Dugald’s conversion falling just short, Hove were now up by two scores 20-12.

Horsham then started to unload their bench and the fresh legs increased the tempo. Martin Macdonald was caught ‘man and ball’ in midfield and then penalised for holding on. From the resulting penalty, Horsham declined the shot at goal and kicked to the corner. Patient phases from their forwards allowed their number 9 to snipe at the base of the ruck to go over. Their fly-half knocking over the extras with ease, 20-19
.
Hove though did not let this faze them and continued to attack from all parts of the pitch. Patient build up work from the Hove forward pods got them to within 5m of the line. However after losing the ball in contact, the Horsham 10 instead of kicking the ball away, played with his head up and threw a long pass from behind his own goal line. A great turn of pace from the prop brought good ground and he timed his pass perfectly to the winger to go round under the sticks despite the best efforts of Rene Pavilides and Will Walker.20-26 after the successful conversion.

Hove had it all to play for and after a Horsham yellow card for a deliberate knock on sensed blood. Time and time again Hove bashed at the Horsham line, but the weary Hove tight 5 were not getting much joy. Boyd Flavell made his trademark ‘step and fend’ which gave him a half break, with Tom Lemahute on his shoulder and just the full-back to beat, his pass was too early and the full-back made the covering tackle.

With time running out, Hove’s pack conceded two penalties at the scrum as Horsham’s fresh legs told. After the second penalty was kicked to touch the final whistle blew. Credit to Horsham who defended admirably with fourteen men in the final ten minutes.
A game that Hove on the balance of chances should have won, but this is a young side with plenty of potential. If this group stays together with some astute additions to the squad, coupled with the fact that the first team pitch should be ready next season they can certainly push on next year.

Credit must go to both Alex and Sandy Robertson for their coaching as well as Adam Tunesi for everything he does to ensure guys get a game of rugby on a Saturday. Enjoy your summer boys, but stay in some sort of shape ready for preseason. Let’s build on the foundations laid this year and make this club one of the best in Sussex again!

Hove: Maguire, P. Ward, Shergold, Buckland, William, Henry, R. Ward, Robinson, Biggs, Dugard, Patton, Macdonald, Flavell, Morlen, Whiting (c) Subs. Swannack, Phillips, Torres, Walker, Bhimji, Pavilides, Lemahaute.

Match details

Match date

Sat 07 May 2016

Kickoff

16:00

Meet time

14:00

Attendance

200
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Senior Mens Sponsor - Apex Group
Pitch & Training Kit Sponsor - Baxter & Hanks
Club Sponsor - Friends of Hove RFC
Club Sponsor - Galloways
Supplement Partner - HIGH5 Sports Nutrition
Gold Partner - T Reeve & Son LTD
Club Partner - Uncle Sams