Bravura Vase victory for H&B

Despite missing half the squad for the second successive week and giving two players their first team debut, H&B - in their new yellow and blue change strip - produced a highly-charged team performance of quick-handling, hard-hitting rugby that left their visitors struggling to compete.

Not that it looked that way from the kick off, when EG's lofty pack confidently took the attack straight to H&B and their backs looked to move it wide.

With skipper Kit Claughton returned at fly half, H&B back line's defence looked hungry for turnovers, while the pack was dynamically revitalised from last week.

Within minutes the defensive pressure had rattled the visitors into coughing up a penalty in front of the post which Dave Milham - who formed an effective centre partnership with Ben Campbell, and whose kicking was excellent - converted.

H&B never looked back from there. A succession of incisive breaks, and good hands and awareness by backs and forwards alike, kept EGs on the back foot.

A penalty kick to the corner led to the first try, when an athletic take by Neil Redman and quick ball to Kit allowed him to dummy the defence and touch down under the posts, converted by Milham for a 10-0 lead.

Minutes later debutant Tom Eason, whose determination, awareness and pace on the wing earned him joint man of the match, chased Kit's long kick, popped it back to Kit, then kicked the return pass to midfield, where Milham gathered it to score and convert, 17-0.

Meanwhile the pack was making all this possible by their dogged hard work in the scrums and lineouts, dominating the opposition and producing good, fast ball from the breakdowns. And the speedy back three, Eason, Walcott and full back Tom Brampton, chased every kick with verve, putting huge pressure on the defence.

Steve McManus at number 8, carrying an ankle injury from early in the game, led an effective back row of Nick Edmunds and joint man of the match Andrew Hitch, while the front row of Martin Sheppard, Dave Sprinks, Illian Granville - and in the second half the dynamic Steve Lovick - provided a solid platform.

A third try came after Hitch turned over the EG fly half and moved it smartly through the hands of Campbell and Edmunds for veteran Sprinks to score his second try in as many home games, which Milham converted from the corner.

EGs got on the scoreboard with a penalty kick after a rare lapse in discipline led to an H&B penalty being reversed, but H&B had the last word in the half when a break by Piers Claughton saw him tackled on the line, and Milham took the three points from the resultant penalty. HT 27-3.

After a scrappy start to the second half, Eason kicked to the fullback, whose sliced return led to a midfield ruck. Good hands from Campbell to Ben Walcott gave the busy wing a scamper down the line for a good try, 32-3.

A period of pressure from EGs led to McManus being binned for a professional foul after a team warning.

With the visitors camped on H&B's line, clearly desperate to score, H&B's 14 men fought back bravely, first the backline running the ball out of trouble from their line, then the seven-man pack winning the scrum against the head.

A break-out by Sheppard, and another run by Milham - ended by an unsavoury stamping incident off the ball which left Milham sidelined with a nasty hand wound - kept H&B in the ascendant.

With the hosts back to 15 men, the hectic pace of the game took its toll, and for once H&B's forwards were caught napping from an EG line-out, and the visitors' pack caught and drove over for a converted touchdown.

The final say was H&B's though, after Piers, covering the wing while Walcott was treated for cramp, picked up a ball dropped by EG's wing and jinked to the line, giving a final pass to Redman, who scored for a wrap-up score of 37-10.

"This game was important to us after last week's disappointment," said Kit Claughton.

"We managed to produce a very good performance against higher opposition. We played as a team, and we showed real determination and awareness. Now we've got to take this form to Uckfield on Saturday."

Head coach Roger Stanley was delighted with the performance: "It shows what we can do when we move the ball quickly enough," he said. "The pack played very well this week. The front row was strong, (Pete) Mahoney had a good game, Lovick added a bit extra, and Hitch really stepped up his game. "The half backs played very well, and Kit gave the game shape. Eason had a fantastic game considering he's hardly played any rugby.

"Today's performance was as good as it's ever been"

Team: Sheppard, Sprinks, Granville (Lovick), Mahoney, Redman, Edmunds, Hitch, McManus (Peek), P. Claughton, K. Claughton (c), Eason, Milham, Campbell, Walcott (Stokes), Brampton. Sub (not used): Saunders.