H&B dig deep to maintain pole position

While the hosts held the lead - and maintained a slight edge - from their first minute kick-through-and-chase try, jointly touched down by Jimmy Adams and Paul Sandeman, to Steve McManus' game-sealer five minutes from time, Crawley never stopped hammering at H&B's door.

The Sussex League leaders lost the scrappy away fixture at Crawley, but both sides have been playing much better rugby since then. It was H&B that put their marker down first, Kris Dempster skilfully hacking ahead a ball dropped by Crawley, Adams and Sandeman reaching it together as it bounced over the tryline, Sandeman converting.

Five minutes later a Crawley penalty was kicked to the corner, and the visitors executed a well-controlled catch and drive try to close the gap to 7-5.

The rest of the half was a real dogfight, with Crawley's powerful and streetwise pack looking dangerous at the breakdown, and H&B's backline giving Crawley food for thought, but just missing that final precision out wide to break down Crawley's tough defence, while in turn putting up a huge defence that stopped the visitors' attacks in their tracks. Piers Claughton always looked threatening sniping from behind the breakdown.

Neither pack conceded anything at their own setpieces, Dave Sprinks' throwing and the influential Neil Redman's catching again exemplary in the line-out.

The referee was punctilious about penalising infringements at the breakdown, and both sides missed a penalty kick, Crawley also having a drop goal attempt charged down by Andy Hitch, before Sandeman converted a penalty to leave the half-time score 10-5.

The second half started at the same gruelling pace as the first, but it was Crawley who launched the first threatening attack, their centre making good ground till he was bodychecked by Sprinks after a kick - the referee judged deliberately - and the H&B hooker was sent to the bin.

This might have been disastrous for H&B - they lost their next throw-in and their next scrum - but the pack dug deep and the backs' defence remained impenetrable, and they hung on till his return without conceding points.

Crawley were trying to catch up via the boot, but after their missed penalty and two unsuccessful drop goal attempts, it was Sandeman - who had a big game - who dropped a goal for H&B with 10 minutes to go.

With Crawley beginning to look desperate, gaps opened for the first time, and Kit Claughton's dextrous pass to Steve McManus and the number 8's feed to Danny Ralph saw the winger run over two opponents and make good ground up the flank before popping it back to McManus for a match-winning 18-5 lead.

It was then that a relieved and exhausted H&B unwisely relaxed and let in a well-worked score from still-dangerous Crawley.

"I was pleased with that performance," said chief coach Roger Stanley. "We showed real character. The props were excellent against the best pack we've played against this season. Crawley could still finish in the play-off place. Neil Redman and Martin Sheppard were very solid. Piers Claughton had an outstanding sniping game. The midfield played well again. The game was a valuable learning curve for young players like (man-of-the-match) Tristan Todd, who's only in his first season at prop."