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Sat 19 Oct 2019 · London 2 South East
Men's 1st XVCrowborough
Tries: A Parker, T Hooper, R Ward, P DugardConversions: A Parker (2)Penalties: C CasanovaYellow Carded: C Watts, A Parker
27
22
Hove make it 4 out of 5 in hard fought win against local rivals.
Martin Macdonald22 Oct 2019 - 10:19
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By Phil Dugard
On Saturday, Hove welcomed high-flying Crowborough to the Rec. This had been the first meeting between the two sides in a few years, and prior league positions suggested this was going to be an enthralling encounter. Crowborough had started the season strongly, sitting in second place, meanwhile Hove were beginning to find their feet and had climbed to fourth. Changes from the previous week included: Charlie Knight starting at nine due to Jerome Pye in typical French form surrendering to a hamstring injury, Bryn Garrish came in for Cyprus International Rene Pavlides who was away on his sixteenth holiday of the year, and Tyler Ray “Yee-haw” Hooper slotted in for the half-injured Chris Knott. The game was a tightly fought contest, and one which Hove will be pleased to have won considering they struggled to get out of second gear.
The game kicked off with Hove attacking the Shirley Drive end. Hove started strongly, and for the first 10-15 minutes had the majority of possession and territory. Despite this however, Hove struggled to capitalise and failed to get into their pattern of play for most of the day. Credit must be given to the Crowborough defence who were resolute throughout and difficult to break down. The first breakthrough of the game came somewhat against the run of play, as Crowborough found some space and with some well worked passing managed to bypass the Hove defence and the fullback went over for the first try of the game. Conversion unsuccessful, 0-5 Crowborough. Hove quickly responded however, and set up camp in the Crowborough 22 for the next period. Despite giving away five penalties in quick succession, Crowborough somehow managed to escape a card. But a move from a lineout saw Alex Parker spot a half gap which he exploited to squeeze over for the first try of the game for Hove. 7-5 to Hove. Crowborough responded immediately however, and an easy penalty gave them an 8-7 lead at half-time.
The second half kicked off, and with both sides on a team warning, a subsequent penalty from Crowborough resulted in the travelling side being reduced to 14 men. Hove began to exploit the extra man, and in the following move managed to sneak over for a try in the corner. Some great running rugby and a quick turnover saw lock Ian Saunders standing exactly where you would expect to find a lock, on the wing. The crowd looked on, and as they had become accustomed to, expected Saunders to drop the ball. However in a surprise turn of events, Saunders caught the ball and galloped like a giraffe on speed towards the Crowborough line. Saunders drew a defender before providing a beautiful no look pass to Dugard on his outside. Dugard with one man to beat, realised after 20+ years of rugby he still can’t sidestep, barrelled into the last defender. Thankfully, Tyler Ray “Yee-haw” Hooper was on hand to dot the ball down in the far corner for a great team try. The conversion was expertly taken, 14-8 to Hove.
Hove seemed to find their stride a little at this point and a further two tries from Rob Ward and Phil Dugard added to the total and cemented the four try bonus point. 24-8 to Hove. Partly due to Hove complacency and partly due to Crowborough having seemingly nothing to lose, the travelling side rallied together after this score and came back fighting. Two yellow cards for Alex Parker and Charlie Watts in quick succession reduced Hove to 13 players, and Crowborough exploited this with a well worked move resulting in a try under the posts. 24-15. Hove tried to slow the game down and see out the sin-bins, and a penalty saw them extend the lead 27-15. The travelling side weren’t finished yet however, and certainly pushed Hove all the way. A late push from Crowborough’s pack in the dying minutes saw another converted try for the visitors. 27-22 final score.
Hove were pleased to get another win under their belts, however the team and coaching staff know that a lot of work needs to be done if they are going to push at the top end of the table. Next week Hove travel to Gravesend and will be looking to build on this result.
The game kicked off with Hove attacking the Shirley Drive end. Hove started strongly, and for the first 10-15 minutes had the majority of possession and territory. Despite this however, Hove struggled to capitalise and failed to get into their pattern of play for most of the day. Credit must be given to the Crowborough defence who were resolute throughout and difficult to break down. The first breakthrough of the game came somewhat against the run of play, as Crowborough found some space and with some well worked passing managed to bypass the Hove defence and the fullback went over for the first try of the game. Conversion unsuccessful, 0-5 Crowborough. Hove quickly responded however, and set up camp in the Crowborough 22 for the next period. Despite giving away five penalties in quick succession, Crowborough somehow managed to escape a card. But a move from a lineout saw Alex Parker spot a half gap which he exploited to squeeze over for the first try of the game for Hove. 7-5 to Hove. Crowborough responded immediately however, and an easy penalty gave them an 8-7 lead at half-time.
The second half kicked off, and with both sides on a team warning, a subsequent penalty from Crowborough resulted in the travelling side being reduced to 14 men. Hove began to exploit the extra man, and in the following move managed to sneak over for a try in the corner. Some great running rugby and a quick turnover saw lock Ian Saunders standing exactly where you would expect to find a lock, on the wing. The crowd looked on, and as they had become accustomed to, expected Saunders to drop the ball. However in a surprise turn of events, Saunders caught the ball and galloped like a giraffe on speed towards the Crowborough line. Saunders drew a defender before providing a beautiful no look pass to Dugard on his outside. Dugard with one man to beat, realised after 20+ years of rugby he still can’t sidestep, barrelled into the last defender. Thankfully, Tyler Ray “Yee-haw” Hooper was on hand to dot the ball down in the far corner for a great team try. The conversion was expertly taken, 14-8 to Hove.
Hove seemed to find their stride a little at this point and a further two tries from Rob Ward and Phil Dugard added to the total and cemented the four try bonus point. 24-8 to Hove. Partly due to Hove complacency and partly due to Crowborough having seemingly nothing to lose, the travelling side rallied together after this score and came back fighting. Two yellow cards for Alex Parker and Charlie Watts in quick succession reduced Hove to 13 players, and Crowborough exploited this with a well worked move resulting in a try under the posts. 24-15. Hove tried to slow the game down and see out the sin-bins, and a penalty saw them extend the lead 27-15. The travelling side weren’t finished yet however, and certainly pushed Hove all the way. A late push from Crowborough’s pack in the dying minutes saw another converted try for the visitors. 27-22 final score.
Hove were pleased to get another win under their belts, however the team and coaching staff know that a lot of work needs to be done if they are going to push at the top end of the table. Next week Hove travel to Gravesend and will be looking to build on this result.
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