Heathfield put on style

The home side produced a remarkable display of fast and skilful rugby to the delight of a large and enthusiastic crowd. Although they defended bravely in the first half Seaford failed to get into their opponents's 22 for much of the game.

The Heathfield forwards, with Tom Pritchard having a fine game on his return to the side, dominated in all phases, often pushing Seaford off the ball and frequently winning turnovers on the ground. The whole pack played superbly and supplied their backs with a monopoly of possession.

For much of the first half Heathfield attempted to score tries through their superior forward strength, but Seaford to their credit kept the scoresheet blank. However, as soon as Heath decided to attack from deep and use the skill of their flankers the floodgates opened.

Within ten minutes of the break Bryn Jones received good ball from second phase and set up Damien Pestell for a powerful run into the Seaford 22. Pestell delivered a beautifully-timed pass to Sam Thewlis playing at outside centre and he completed the move to open the scoring. Within minutes the same players set up Mike Hole to score his first try which was converted to put Heathfield ahead 12-0 at half-time.

The second half began with Joe Reilly off the field with a knee injury and with Seaford reduced to 14 men as a result of a red card given to one of their forwards after an indiscretion in full view of the referee. Aided by the loss of a Seaford player the home team stepped up a gear and exposed their opponents's weaknesses with clinical efficiency.

Coach Dave Jones moved Will Drinkwater to No.15 which allowed him to bring on debutant Nick Cherry at No.9. Cherry settled in well and quickly, linking well with his backs and snapping at the heels of his forwards. He chose his options well and impressed with his speed of thought and distribution and capped a most promising debut with a well-taken try.

Heathfield played quite superbly against the elements in the second half, keeping the ball in hand and running excellent lines.

The try scorers were Sam Thewlis with his second, the ebullient Rob Lawrence, who continues to be an inspiring player for Heathfield, and Mike Hole, who rounded off a splendid afternoon by running in from the ten-metre line.