Haywards Heath 31, Folkestone 15: Five-try Heath maintain momentum

A Heath side brimming with confidence after the previous week's dogged success against Thanet faced another tough encounter against promotion rivals Folkestone RFC at Whitemans Green in the latest round of London 3 South East league fixtures.
Action from Haywards Heath v Folkestone. Photo by warwickpics.comAction from Haywards Heath v Folkestone. Photo by warwickpics.com
Action from Haywards Heath v Folkestone. Photo by warwickpics.com

Conditions were perfect for rugby with minimal wind and a dry surface meaning that Heath were able to play their expansive style of rugby from the whistle. As in previous weeks the Heath pack immediately gained the ascendancy both in the tight and at the breakdown. The first five minutes were all played deep in Folkestone territory and a maul set from a lineout almost reached the try line before valiant Folkestone defence held firm. However from the next phase of play a ruck wide left gave quick ball to the blind side where second row Tom Burns was lurking to twinkle-toe the 5 yards down the touchline in limited space and touch down in the corner. 5 - 0 to Heath after 6 minutes .

It was clear that Heath’s tails were up and from the restart they continued to play attractive and well executed rugby, pulling their opponents from side to side of the pitch and bossing the midfield battle. Anytime Folkestone won the ball they were quickly closed down by great defensive line speed and it was no surprise when the home team scored again. Quick hands down the backs gave Bobby Conroy-Smith a bit of space to show his speed on the right wing and when he chipped over the full back the ball was gathered on the full by Heath’s own number 15, Jo Ratcliff who scorched in unopposed under the posts. Player /coach Peter Kerins slotted the extras for 12- 0 scoreline with 15 minutes gone .

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Heath remained dominant and only some last gasp tackling from the Folkestone back row and midfield kept the red and black tide at bay. There was only so long Folkestone could hold out and after some beautiful passing interplay down the middle of the park with offloads and inside passes making it impossible to defend against, Heath were on the board again with winger Jamie Diggle taking a pass to finish off a sweeping move for another try. Again Kerins converted giving Heath a strong grip on the game with a 19-0 lead.

Winger Roscoe Atkins. Action from Haywards Heath v Folkestone. Photo by warwickpics.comWinger Roscoe Atkins. Action from Haywards Heath v Folkestone. Photo by warwickpics.com
Winger Roscoe Atkins. Action from Haywards Heath v Folkestone. Photo by warwickpics.com

The Heath forwards continued to have the upper hand in the set piece, notwithstanding the size of the Folkestone front row, and clinical ball retention at the contact area meant their opponents were unable to get any sort of foothold in the game. More crisp handling at electric pace down the hill gave the three quarters a further opportunity to score with the accuracy of the passing creating space wide right for Jo Ratcliff to dive over in the corner for his second of the day. Although Kerins was narrowly wide from the touchline a 24-0 lead did not flatter the hosts who were putting together one of their best displays of this and perhaps even the last couple of seasons. Heath continued to have the upper hand and were rarely threatened by the visitors who simply weren’t able to hold onto the ball long enough to put together any phases of play. The home side probably should have had a couple more tries for their endeavour given the time spent on the Folkestone line but the score remained 24 -0 at the half-time break .

Whether it was a feeling of job done given that the four try bonus point was already in the bag, or minds turning to the Viking themed Halloween night out in Brighton planned for that evening, the home team came out from half time a completely different side. More importantly so did their opponents. Folkestone now playing down the hill took the game to Heath up front and for the first time exerted some real pressure on the home try line. For the first 10 minutes of the second half Folkestone battered away at the Heath white wash before eventually being rewarded by a score in the corner to bring the score to 24 -5.

The accuracy in execution and intensity of play from the first half had disappeared from Heath’s game and they were only able to play in sporadic bursts rather than exercising the control they had shown earlier. The Heath skipper Nick Main leading from the front managed to wrestle a score back with a bulldozing run through tacklers carrying him over after some good hands had taken Heath deep into opposition territory. Kerins hit the conversion sweetly for a 31- 5 lead which seemed to be game over. However Folkestone had other ideas and in the last ten minutes laid assault to the Heath line managing to score two more tries when Heath lost a bit of their shape and defensive discipline. However the visitors ran out of time to get their own bonus point and the game ended with a 31-15 victory for Heath.

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So 5 tries, 5 points and a 5 game winning streak in the league that takes Heath up to third place in the division leapfrogging Folkestone in the process. Given the contrast between the two halves there is still a lot to work on and if this Heath team are to be serious promotion contenders they will need to be able to put 80 minutes of rugby together on the park and close games out more ruthlessly after gaining control. However as this had looked a potentially tricky fixture the coaches would have settled for the bonus point win before the game and the fact that Heath denied a bonus point to a usually free scoring Folkestone side who are promotion rivals would have been particularly satisfying.

Nick Main - number 8 and captain goes for line and scores final try. Action from Haywards Heath v Folkestone. Photo by warwickpics.comNick Main - number 8 and captain goes for line and scores final try. Action from Haywards Heath v Folkestone. Photo by warwickpics.com
Nick Main - number 8 and captain goes for line and scores final try. Action from Haywards Heath v Folkestone. Photo by warwickpics.com

Next week sees Heath away at mid-division Park House looking to build on this impressive run of results.

Heath Rams fielded a young side away at Burgess Hill 2nds. A very large Burgess Hill pack dominated the first half and were 7-5 up at the break. However the greater fitness of the Rams allowed them to claw their way back into the game eventually winning 7-17 after a number 8 pick up and score from veteran club captain Kevin McDonald secured the points in the closing minutes.

Heath 1st XV: Sam Beckett , Wilf Bridges (Paddy Sandys-Renton), Jack Bull, Nick Miller, Tom Burns (Dan Shotton), Josh Salisbury, Sam Drage, Nick Main (Capt.), Brett Menefy, Peter Kerins, Bobby Conroy-Smith, Robbie Fotheringham, Jack Lucas (Roscoe Atkins), Jamie Diggle, Jo Ratcliff

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