Accomplished performance from Burgess Hill Colts

Burgess Hill Colts produced an accomplished performance to see off an Eastbourne team 24-0, the first time this Sussex All Blacks age group has beaten their counterparts.
Burgess Hill v Eastbourne action. Picture by Jordan StrongBurgess Hill v Eastbourne action. Picture by Jordan Strong
Burgess Hill v Eastbourne action. Picture by Jordan Strong

Right from kick off the All Blacks dictated the tempo and physicality of the game with strong work from the forwards gaining Hill valuable ground in the opening minutes. Barely 5 minutes had gone when the first opportunity opened up. A ruck on the right hand side was well won and some brilliant vision from scrum half Joe Brown saw him dummy a pass before breaking down the touchline, scoring a superb individual try from over 30 metres out. The successful conversion, by Brown again, put the home side ahead 7-0.

The following 20 minutes was much the same, with Hill totally dominating in the forwards and easily driving the bigger Eastbourne pack in the scrum. With valuable yards gained, this determination came to fruition 5 minutes from half time when Joe Turner broke through the first line of Eastbourne’s defence, giving himself space and time to pick his line. After evading two further tackles Turner scored Hill’s second unopposed try, putting Burgess Hill into a 12-0 lead at the break.

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Hill again started strongly in the second half, dominating breakdowns and possession. The ability of the Forwards to turn over Eastbourne’s ball was proving valuable and gave the Sussex All Blacks back line something to work with, attacking quickly and precisely and giving the defence no time to rest. It was this precision that created the third try. After some quick hands the ball came to Full Back Tomer Teichmann who produced a dazzling run, skipping past defenders with finesse and finishing the move off with pace. The dog-legged defence could only watch on as Hill’s score rose to a 17-0 advantage.

Eastbourne were clearly building in frustration which boiled over halfway through the second period. The first of two yellow cards was given for dissent after a high tackle on scorer Teichmann, allowing the home side to capitalize on the extra man for the next 7 minutes. A grubber kick through from Captain Harry Long was caught by the opposition Full Back but as he went to place the ball down in the dead ball zone the ball came loose. Long, who had been chasing his kick, was the quickest to react and fell on the ball scoring Hill’s fourth try of the match. Despite numerous protestations from Eastbourne, resulting in another yellow card being given, the try was rightfully awarded.

With victory in sight, Hill closed down the game and rather than going for more points, they settled into a rhythm of keeping the ball and controlling the game until the final whistle.

Final Score – Hill 24 Eastbourne 0