H&B suffer more play-off heartbreak

This was supposed to be the year when H&B finally made the jump to London South East Division Four.

After three promotion play-off failures in the previous four years, surely H&B couldn't miss out again.

But they could, and they deserved to as well. Outmuscled up-front, outpaced in the backs, outkicked and, more significantly than anything else, outdesired, H&B were a rather lame second best on a glorious Saturday afternoon at William Parker Sports College.

"On the day," commented H&B spokesman Peter Knight, "we were beaten by a better team to be absolutely honest with you. I don't think they were up for it more than we were; all our players tried their best, but they were playing a good side. I think it was probably our best performance in a play-off, but it wasn't our best of the season. It's a great shame; we've had a good season and we deserved it (promotion).

"We were very well-organised and the players were very well-drilled, but there's a step between Sussex and Kent rugby. They play at that level every week, but Sussex One does not provide us with that experience. We tried organising more friendly fixtures against the top Kent teams, but that didn't really come to fruition because they send out second teams on blank weeks or pull out at short notice."

Knight also refuted the notion, largely borne out of H&B's play-off record, that they are not a big game team.

"I don't think we're not a big game team," he went on. "I just think that the teams we come up against are that much tougher because of the competition for players and places. We have won big games like (against then London South East Division Four outfits) Aylesford and Crawley (in the Powergen Junior Vase last season), but they've been when we've taken teams by surprise."

Perhaps the writing was on the wall for H&B within the opening three minutes. The accurate boot of Bourne fly-half Scott Truss pinged the ball deep into H&B territory and, despite having watched a video of their opponents the previous week, the home wing and full-back were out of position and Paul Sandeman eventually had to bundle the ball into touch five metres from their line. From the resulting line-out, lock and captain Paul Saunders bulldozed his way over and Truss converted.

Although Knight felt that past failures "didn't appear" to enter the players' minds after they fell behind, they rarely looked at their flowing best with passes often going astray and the ball frequently being lost in contact.

They had the chance to put themselves on the scoreboard 11 minutes after going behind, but Sandeman pulled his penalty wide of the left upright.

A period of scrappy play with a flurry of stoppages and regular scrum collapses then ensued before a slick crossfield move left Bourne with a two-man overlap, enabling Adam Spokes to touch down in the right corner. Truss again added the extra two points.

Bourne, who for the most part kicked for territory, were briefly reduced to 14 men when their flanker was sent to the sin-bin for stamping on Paul Flood at a ruck and H&B almost took advantage when David Northen broke clear only to be thwarted by a brilliant tap tackle. Sandeman hooked a second penalty well off target in the seventh minute of added time.

H&B enjoyed their best phase of the match at the start of the second half, though, and began to look as if they could eat into the deficit. They got near the line on a couple of occasions, but more turnovers and a booming clearing boot put an end to their pressure.

Another Truss penalty in the 64th minute effectively sealed the result and Sittingbourne's first appearance in London Four in their 30-year history was confirmed when Spokes crossed again following a neat kick and chase four minutes into added time.

H&B's misery was compounded when Kit Claughton damaged ankle ligaments towards the end and the fly-half could be off his feet for up to eight weeks.

H&B: Sheppard, Davies, Granville, Cullingford (P. Northen), Redman, Edmunds (Roberts), McManus, Flood, P. Claughton, K. Claughton (Adams), Ralph, Sparks, D. Northen, Brampton, Sandeman.