Does a heavy defeat for Hastings and Bexhill RFC point to a big mistake by the RFU?

Sevenoaks RFC 2nds 62 Hastings & Bexhill RFC 3

Hastings & Bexhill suffered their biggest defeat for many years in this very one-sided Kent county two fixture.

Sevenoaks’ first XV play in National two alongside such clubs as Blackheath, Bury St Edmunds and Guernsey.

Many of the players included in this game have represented the senior team and the difference in ability, coaching and physicality was obvious.

The H&B pack, although short of several first choice players, all played well and matched their opposition.

The biggest difference was in the centres, where Sevenoaks were devastating. The inside centre ripped holes in the Hastings defensive line.

By half-time the hosts had scored five tries with three converted making the score 31-0. Five more in the second half plus three conversions completed the rout. Skipper Bruce Steadman put H&B on the scoreboard with a well-taken penalty late in the game.

Hastings welcomed back Dan Suggitt and Matt Garnham after long injury lay-offs. Suggitt came on at half-time and worked hard.

Player unavailibilty meant Garnham had to start. With the benefit of hindsight this was probably too much because after an hour he had to leave the pitch with what looks like a torn hamstring which will mean another long lay-off.

Several other H&B players suffered knocks which will probably deplete the team for this week’s home fixture against leaders Dover RFC (Ark Alexandra Academy, 2:30pm).

Joe Field, Harry Walker, Quin McManus and Joe Jenner all put in good performances and should be proud. The whole team did their best and nobody let themselves nor the club down.

In football terms this was Manchester United v Hastings United! The players and facilities available to the Sevenoaks squad are vastly superior.

This is not sour grapes and Sevenoaks, Canterbury, Sidcup and Westcombe Park rugby clubs are in no way responsible or to be blamed for this situation but the RFU experiment of including senior clubs’ second XVs in a level eight league has not worked. The bottom three, including H&B, have had torrid seasons. Many players have suffered injuries and their enjoyment of a hobby has waned considerably.

PETER KNIGHT

How Eastbourne RFC moved to within one win of the Counties 2 Sussex.

Shoreham 64 St Leonards CP 26

Ports took a small squad bolstered by Uckfield and East Grinstead players as veteran second row Gavin Thomas became the first St Leonards player to make 300 appearances for the club.

The game started with a Shoreham try, before it settled. Ports had a powerful front row anchored by Sean Morgan and Charlie Rumary and this gave a significant platform.

The first try came after a scrum and the ball was worked to Ollie Glynn, playing out of position in the centres, who crashed through tackles to score. Henry Hlll converted.

Ports dominated the set-piece but Shoreham were dangerous from the counter and scored their second. The boot of Hill released the pressure time and again, and a misfielded kick saw a scrum from which Paul Smart threw a sumptuous dummy and Murray Warman cut an angle to score his 12th of the season. Hill again found the extras.

The second half saw Shoreham make significant changes that brought zip to their game. Ports struggled defensively, and the game was lost quickly.

Glynn ate up the yards before being pulled down inches away. Tom Follington dived over for his first try for the team.

Ports’ final try saw Glynn run 60m after a superb lineout maul move. Thomas missed the conversion

Smart said: “Great first half, some super rugby. Shoreham strengthened the team at half time but we still found scoring opportunities.” Glynn was MoM.

Heathfield 24 Thanet Wanderers 8

An unusually young Heathfield team secured a bonus point win against Thanet.

The Heathfield squad included ten players aged 21 or under as injuries and a nasty bug led to call-ups for several colts, who all did well.

Heathfield generally had the better of the first half but weren’t convincing. One threatening run by Sam Williams gave Toby Simpson a chance but a foot grazed the touchline.

The first score came through good handling by Harry Slinnhawkins and Simpson to put Cole Mackenzie in for a fine try. Thanet replied with a penalty, then scored their own well-taken try through fine handling and supporting runners.

Thanet had the better of the first 15 minutes of the second half as they hammered away at the home try line with good ball retention and support play. The home defence was tested but proved adequate.

Heathfield broke out and a fine kick by Tom Reilly was recovered by Lucas Cuming - the ball was moved to Slinnhawkins to score in the corner, well converted by Simpson.

With time running out, colt Ollie Wigman made a strong run, carried on by Sam Crichton and Cuming, who found Williams – he had plenty to do to finish athletically in the corner.

In the last moments, Thanet had a lineout on their own line but it was turned over and in a messy situation Wigman muscled over for a bonus point try.

Heathfield entertain Bromley tomorrow.

- Philip Bell

YOUTH RUGBY

The second league outing for the Sussex Barbarians U12 girls was a trip to Pulborough – with representatives from Chichester, Haywards Heath, Lewes, Seaford and Uckfield putting in a shift of sublime running rugby, impressive tackling and skills.

Pulborough were short of numbers, so each team had nine players, and this meant half the Barbarians side were rested during the first half.

From kick-off, the Baa-Baas intent was plain to see. Some sublime running, quick thinking and barrelling directness meant the Baa-Baas came off at half-time four tries to the good.

The switch of players caused some disruption to the Baa-Baas, and Pulborough changed their game plan and started to reel the scoreline back in. The final score was a 5-7 win for the Barbarians.

Lewes U12 boys welcomed Burgess Hill for a friendly.

Lewes’ potent attack started to prove too much for Hill and gaps started to open up in the defence, with Ben running one into the corner after a great pass from Tom to score Lewes’ first try.

Lewes kept piling forward and, after some great link up work from Ben and Edward, Ben went over for his second.

Burgess Hill had a sustained period of play which resulted in a try. Lewes, though, came straight back at them and the third try was made by Dylan, who was able to burst through the Burgess Hill line to set up a great team try for Lucas.

The fourth try came through the ball being spread down the line by Malin and Ben to release Sander. He showed great skill and he darted through to to make it 4-1. After a great tackle by Malin, Tom was able to run in and score Lewes’s fifth try and the half-time score was 5-1.

In the second half Lewes finally got their sixth try after another powerful run by Toby, who was able to hand off a couple of Burgess Hill players, and then get the ball out to Tom who went over for the try.

Burgess Hill pulled another one back but Lewes had the last word with a great team try after a Lewes scrum, which Jack got out quickly for it to be passed out for Lucas to power over into the corner. The final result was 7–2 to Lewes.

Lewes boys’ U13 team faced an experienced Jersey side at the Stanley Turner Ground. Jersey scored a try but Lewes doubled their efforts and were able to keep pushing forward.

Jersey broke through to make the score 10-0. Lewes again monopolised possession and pushed Jersey back into their half. However, they were not able to convert this pressure into a score.

After half-time Jersey quickly gained more points, putting another try down in less than two minutes. Lewes remained determined and still had the majority of possession, but they were still not able to convert their efforts into points. Jersey scored the final try of the match, making the score 20-0.

Both teams put on a fantastic display of rugby, but on the day, Jersey stuck to their game plan and Lewes couldn’t play to their strengths.

PAUL NICHOLL