Promising young side put on style in Shield

From the outset the Uckfield pack attacked Burgess Hill with ferocity and strength. The likes of Ridley, Funnell and Bradley cleared out rucks hard and fast, creating an ideal platform for returning scrum half Whelan, and giving the new partnership of Ridley and Cullingford plenty of opportunity to gel in the midfield.

Gilkes never allowed Burgess Hill time to settle and forced turnovers that the visitors could little afford to concede.

It took ten minutes to break the deadlock, but the score that finally did so was well worth the wait. Lineout master Harle provided a perfect ball off the top. Fly half Forward made a neat half-break before delivering a beautifully-timed pop to Ridley, who then returned the favour to leave Forward a clear run to the posts, establishing a deserved 7-0 lead for the home side.

Minutes later it was Funnell who crashed over for a score, again on the end of an incisive pass from Forward.

Astute tactical kicking from Douse kept Burgess Hill in defensive territory, and the pressure told again as Caket showed a clean pair of heels to the hapless full back to stretch the lead even further.

A score on the stroke of half-time gave Burgess Hill a glimmer of hope, but at 19-5 they went into the break some way back.

Uckfield kept up the pressure throughout the second half, not least in the front row, where Woods and Whitmarsh took no prisoners at the scrummage. Binder, Billings and Cornick all proved more than ample replacements, which was the last thing that the rapidly-tiring Burgess Hill pack wanted to see.

As Cullingford grew in confidence in the centre the dangerous wingers Damane and Chappell saw a lot more ball and stretched Burgess Hill across the full width of the field. This created gaps in the midfield, and Forward again showed an eagle eye for a gap as he fed Caket who, thanks to a superb angle, crossed untouched as he had done against Brighton two weeks ago.

Having stolen the ball at the back of a lineout Funnell showed great vision to feed his backs rather than charge at the tempting target of the Burgess Hill fly half. Ridley showed his pace in outstripping the defence before selflessly feeding Damane for the first of his two clinically-taken scores.

Although Uckfield continued to put Burgess Hill under pressure and edged ever closer to a half-century of points, much of their good work was undone by ill-discipline. Backchat to the referee saw no fewer than four penalties in their favour overturned, costing them the field position that eventually led to a second try for Burgess Hill in the dying minutes.

Although Uckfield's comfortable dominance lessened the impact of the errors on this occasion, coach John Cant was eager to stress that such behaviour will have far greater significance in the forthcoming local derbies against Heathfield and Crowborough.

This solid performance showed that Uckfield have tempered their attacking flair with a strong foundation of quality basic skills. If good discipline is restored then they can welcome Heathfield tomorrow (2.30pm kick-off) with confidence.

Uckfield: Woods, Bradley, Whitmarsh, Funnell, Harle, Gilkes, Caket, Ridley, Whelan, Forward, Damane, Ridley (capt), Cullingford, Chappell, Douse. Subs: Binder, Billings, Cornick.

Uckfield 2nd XV were beaten 40-14 by Hove last weekend. Tomorrow they visit Rye in the league, 2.30pm.