Heathfield RFC savour winning weekend for men and women
Heathfield RFC’s men beat Sevenoaks seconds 39-1, while Heathfield Ladies enjoyed a 25-16 win over Hammersmith & Fulham Ladies.
On Saturday Heathfield men eventually had a convincing win over Sevenoaks II, which maintains their challenge for the runner-up place in Counties 1 Kent in a close battle with Sevenoaks and Deal.
In the first half the lead changed hands several times as a Toby Simpson try, converted by himself, and a penalty was answered by two tries by Sevenoaks. However the visitors’ scrummage was providing a secure platform and the home side was leaking penalties leading to a yellow card for a flanker.
Towards the end of the half Jay Massey-Taylor dived into the corner to give Heathfield the lead and then in the last play of the half Sam Walley continued his try-scoring season with another from a lineout.
The 12-22 scoreline at half-time reflected a close game. The fluctuating nature of the game was continued as Chris Baker-Butler scrambled over the line in a heap of bodies for Heathfield’s bonus point try. This was followed by two Sevenoaks tries to reduce the gap to 24-29.
Loose talk by the home side cost them three points and then a dominant scrum allowed Walley to double his tally on the day. A late home try was not enough to affect the result.
On Sunday Heathfield Ladies welcomed Hammersmith & Fulham Ladies, who had just beaten them earlier in the season.
There were chances at both ends in the first half hour but two HF penalties were the only scores. Then in the last few minutes of the half Dave Flower and Maya Champion each scored a try for a 10-6 half time score.
The game was effectively decided in the third quarter with tries by Christi-Rose Pretorius and Chip Chippett. Heathfield’s handling under pressure was afterwards mentioned as their key strength with Steph Ryan and Sophia Skinner being especially effective.
HF replied with two tries. A precise cross-kick gave their right wing one before good handling from broken play produced another. At 20-16 the result was in doubt but most of the play was in the visitors’ 22 and finally skipper Carol Saunders boshed her way over for the decisive score.
The result keeps Heathfield in a solid mid-table in Championship 2.
After a week off the men visit Cranbrook who are battling against relegation (April 11, 3pm) while the ladies wait another week before a crunch game at Beckenham (April 19, 2pm).