Error-strewn '˜Boro throw away early lead

The match was switched late to a small college pitch, of which the legality was questioned, which played right into the hosts’ favour.

Despite this, ‘Boro started strongly and a try from Ollie Paige, converted by captain Simon Burfiend, and score from Luke Kildford put them 12-3 up early on.

The hosts pulled back another penalty, before Will Akers touched down for a 1-6 lead as Hill failed to dot down the ball, but Pulborough inexplicably let the hosts back into the game with lacklustre defending as they scored twice to lead 18-17 at the break.

With the slope in the second half, Burgess Hill exerted plenty of pressure on the ‘Boro line and ran in two more tries to seal the win.

Burfiend said: “Credit to Burgess Hill they played to their strengths and capitalised on our mistakes very well, of which there were many.

“Unfortunately, we got anxious and began forcing offloads and passes that simply were not on.

“Had we been more accurate I’m sure the score line would have been different. I also feel that we simply switched off after the third try and let Hill back into the game. Instead we should have focused more on our defence and looked to close out the match.”

“However there are some positives to take from the match. When we went wide after using our phases we did look very dangerous and, despite missing three fly-halfs resulting in serious changes within the back line, we still looked threatening.”

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