H&B back their skills in atrocious weather

ON A day when English clubs traditionally slog it out upfront in low-scoring games - a swirling gale and treacherous underfoot - H&B inflicted Burgess Hill's biggest defeat this season with no less than seven backs tries.

In return they conceded two pushovers and an interception, from a tough and dogged Burgess Hill team that has been improving for two seasons, and whose pack posed H&B problems.

Injuries dictated yet more team changes, Piers Claughton moving to inside centre, Paul Sandeman outside him, Matt Harboard at scrum half, Pete Mahoney again at lock, Tony Roche at prop and Ben Walcott on the wing.

H&B did not come out of the blocks as quickly as of late, and although they scored within five minutes - a turnover by Steve McManus, and hard running and good hands along the line for Walcott to touchdown in the corner - they couldn't quite get into the driving seat. The visitors' lineout was functioning well, and when they won clean ball in H&B's 22 they mauled the ball inexorably towards and over H&B's line, to make it 5-5.

Hill were also looking lively in the set scrum, but H&B's pack lifted their game with a well-worked short throw at their line-out. Skilful interplay and hard running by Paul Northen, Ben Davies and Neil Redman set the stage for good hands down the line and back, culminating in a scything run by Ben Campbell to beat one man, side step another and burst through a third to make it 10-5.

H&B's third try came when McManus picked up and broke from the base of the scrum, slipping the ball deftly to Kit Claughton, who stepped and shrugged off the defence to make it 15-5.

Hill hit back with another powerful forwards drive ending in a touchdown right in the corner, leaving the game still not won at 15-10 at half-time.

The second half continued in similar vein, Hill's hard-working defence pinning H&B in their own 22. But H&B refused to be panicked; with the wind uncertain and Hill's lineout clicking, they didn't risk the kicking lottery, but continued to have faith in their well-proven ability to score tries from their own 22.

Sure enough, they finally engineered the space to break out, and the ball was moved slickly from one side of the pitch and back to the other, for Walcott to finish well for his second try.

This heralded a weather-defying discovery of form for H&B. The pack, with man-of-the-match Mahoney and McManus always in the heart of the action, started winning collisions upfront, and the midfield trio of Sandeman and the Claughtons, whose defence had been rock-solid and work-rate intense all game, started making holes in the opposition defence.

Five minutes later from a turnover ball, Kit Claughton broke and fed his brother, and Piers floated a brilliant long pass over defenders' heads into the arms of Walcott, for his third try, converted by Jimmy Adams.

Then Kit Claughton won a turn-over in the tackle, and the ball was moved smartly down the line for Campbell to scoot in for his second of the day, again converted by Adams..

By now, H&B were tormenting their tiring opponents, especially in the set scrum. But Hill showed their ambition when an overconfident H&B pass was intercepted by a Hill player for an unopposed run in under the posts.

H&B responded with Campbell breaking powerfully down the line, and timing a beautifully threaded pass to Piers Claughton, who plucked it off his laces and raced in under the posts, Adams adding the extras to end the game.

"We did well to win comfortably in the end," said head coach Roger Stanley. "They had a good set of forwards, and they defended well. We weren't clearing out the ball at the rucks as well as we have been - it was better in the second half. The weather played a big part, but they're a difficult side to play against."

H&B: Roche (Todd), Davies, P. Northen, Mahoney, Redman, Hitch, McManus, Edmunds, Harboard, K. Claughton, Campbell, P. Claughton, Sandeman, Walcott, Adams.