Hastings & Bexhill III 12 v Heathfield III 42
The second weekend of the season saw H & B Third team traveling to Heathfield for their first League game of the year. Having sent several players with the 2nd XV due to missing players and with Phil Begg out due to broken ribs Ady Evans stepped in as Captain. This game was always going to be a baptism of fire, with Heathfield known for their strong team. Within 10 minutes of the start H & B made the classic mistake of not playing to the Referees whistle and allowed a fast moving number 8 to break off the Scrum and run in an easy try. This was quickly followed by a second converted try for Heathfield executed by a strong pairing in the centers breaking through Hastings defence. At this stage the Hastings pack began to get the measure of the opposition and a steadier Scrum was seen, with superb scrummaging at the breakdowns due to the mobility of Andy Small, Dominic Sewell and Neil Clark. The general calming effect across the team saw more ball retention and strong tackling by the backs to keep the majority of the play in the middle of the field. A long kick by Fly Half Mick Ellis resulted in a line out within the oppositions 22 and the following driving maul was too powerful for Heathfield to hold, Brian McNeilly gaining H & B a Try. Despite some excellent tackling from John Fisher and Phil Osunsami Heathfield came back with another converted Try, again set up by their centers, an obvious game plan was beginning to come to light with every ball being pushed to the number 13 to crash through H & B defence. With the Score line at 19 to 5 at Half Time, H & B were keen to find last seasons playing standard. A couple of changes gave some freshness to the team and from the start Hastings pushed deep into the oppositions half, a 20 meter run up the 15m channel by Duncan Dobson, Matt Dawes and Jason Lusted had the pack looking more like a set of backs. A set move off the Scrum saw centre Dave Getty break several tackles taking the ball several meters up field, the forwards rucking over to secure the ball before taking on Heathfield in a contest of strength only loosing when the defending side brought down the Maul two meters from their Try Line. A quick penalty by McNeilly saw him once more crashing through the defence to score a well deserved Try duly converted by Ady Evens. With the Scoreline standing at 19 - 12 Hastings were let down by their fitness and despite some last minute tackling by Full Back David Hirst, Heathfield were getting to the breakdowns in numbers quicker than Hastings and slowly the score crept up as another four trys went in for the home team. Despite the end score H & B benefited the opposition were surprised at the final score at the last whistle of the game. A full training session is planned for Saturday 22 at the Club.
