Horsham RFC back to winning ways over Sheppey

After a couple of disappointing defeats Horsham bounced back with a comfortable 19-5 victory away to relegation threatened Sheppey.
Horsham man of the match James WhitingHorsham man of the match James Whiting
Horsham man of the match James Whiting

The warm sunny weather and firm ground made the conditions perfect for a game of running rugby and both sides did not disappoint.

A delighted backs coach Richard Bell said: “I was really pleased with the performance. Our intensity was good, particularly in the first half when we scored three well taken tries.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We were running from depth with good patterns to our play hitting the space rather than the contact. We had a good defensive structure, good line speed and our line integrity held.

“I thought our two centres played well together and James Whiting was elusive running from full back. We had good inter-linking between forwards and backs and our discipline was good, although we conceded too many turnovers. We were more dangerous and used the ball better than they did and could have scored a couple more tries.

“It was a confidence building result for the side who looked to be enjoying it again playing with smiles on their faces.”

Horsham made their intent clear from the outset when Jonny Ordidge broke a couple of tackles surging down the left to almost score, then moments later Ben Rush took a quick tap penalty but was stopped just short.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sheppey kicked long to clear their lines but man of the match James Whiting, at full-back, counter attacked well, but a lack of precision with their passing prevented the Green and Whites scoring.

Sheppey then showed from their first meaningful attack that they could threaten when they moved the ball smartly from right to left and it required a tackle from Whiting as the last line of defence to prevent a try.

Whiting then ran a good line on to a flat pass from Rush to run half the length of the pitch but again was stopped just short of the line.

On 24 minutes Sheppey had a player yellow carded for stamping and Horsham took advantage by scoring two tries in three minutes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

First Ordidge ran straight and hard off a Matt Brown pass to break a couple of tackles and score under the posts. Then Lee Taylor ran the ball back after the restart and it went through several sets of hands before Jonny Goward powered over to score an excellent team try. Both tries were converted by Will Bell.

Horsham kept up the momentum first with a powerful charge from Richard Henderson as he held a difficult high pass to crash through the centre, then from Ordidge as he made a powerful break to then pass to Whiting but he was tackled.

In the final minute of the half Ordidge put Bell clear to make a 40-yard break before the ball was recycled left to Whiting, who straightened up to pass to Taylor and he outpaced the defence to put Horsham 19-0 ahead at half-time.

After a strong start to the half by Horsham the balance of play was quite even and Horsham won a kicking duel when Brown made a long kick upfield, which Sheppey kicked back and the ball was caught by Goward who made hard yards to secure the next attacking phase.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bell and Rush made try-saving tackles before Sheppey finally opened their account to cross the line after 59 minutes after a period of pressure. Horsham were further disrupted by injuries to Goward and Jordan Smith which affected continuity and no further points were added.

Horsham’s next game is away to Gillingham Anchorians on Saturday (March 22).

Horsham: Talbot (capt), Penfold (Fisher 45), Barber; Green, Goward (N Bell 59); Price, Smith (Jenkins 70), Jonathan Whiting; Rush, Brown; Taylor, Ordidge, Henderson, W Bell; James Whiting.