H&B tackle top of the table clash

While H&B are currently at the Kent One summit with three wins out of three, victory over Southwark is vital to maintaining their momentum and creating a gap to the chasing pack.

Head coach Kevin Smith said: “It’s a crucial game. If we play as well as we did at Vigo (last weekend) and do the right things, I think we can win, and hopefully we can get a bit of a buffer early in the season.”

The club was delighted with last Saturday’s impressive 53-11 triumph away to Vigo and, according to Smith, his squad’s performance in that fixture will ignite even more self-belief.

Smith added: “Any win away from home is important, and there’s a good spirit within the squad and the management. Confidence is high, but no-one is getting carried away.

“We made a couple of mistakes at the breakdown in the first 20 minutes and found it difficult to get out of our 22. All of a sudden we started looking dangerous and the warning signs were there.

“The second half was absolutely the best bit of rugby I’ve seen Hastings & Bexhill play during my 10 years as a coach. We want to do our best and keep this run going, but we’ve just got to make sure we do the simple things well. We still have to work hard.”

Elsewhere, Rye Rugby Club will be targeting a second successive away victory in Sussex One when it makes the long journey to Chichester III tomorrow. The hosts sit just one place above Rye in 10th.