Cinque Ports Lose out in Try Fest!!

Heathfield IV 41 Cinque Ports Rugby 19 (HT 31-7)

Cinque Ports travelled from St Leonards  to the Sussex Weald for a first vs second clash, wary of the fact that Heathfield Boars had won by 30-40 points in all their games so far. The reasons for this became apparent very early on, the Cinque Ports scrum found itself under pressure and this gave the hosts a two man overlap and the try was inevitable. The early stages were characterised by a nervy performance by the CPR, loose kicks and a shaky line out put self inflicted pressure on Cinque Ports and only a fantastic one on one tackle by full back Greg Stokes prevented another try. Heathfield were not to be denied and a second try did come. Greg Stokes was soon replaced by Carl Malthouse after a facial injury, and the new look side tried fighting back but Heathfield surged into Cinque Ports territory. Wily outside half and captain Paul Smart quickly turned defence to attack with a clever steal on the floor, Smart put the ball through a number of hands before second row Kevin Parker released Mike Dangerfield. Playing at 13 Mike Dangerfield stepped up the pace to outstrip the considerable defence and run in the try from 55 metres. Paul Smart ended what he had begun with a well kicked conversion. Heathfield's advantage seem to lie in their very mobile young back row, a good Cinque Ports line out saw Chris Eastwood wriggle into space before offloading but Heathfield again won the ball on the floor and they scored from the counter attack. An ankle injury to centre Gavin Sams saw greater upheaval for the CPR his replacement Gary Surridge did make a difference with his aggressive running style but a period of forward dominance saw Heathfield score again on the stroke of half time.

The return after almost a year's absence of destructive back rower Gary Swift was the highlight of the second half as Heathfield seemed likely to run away with the game as they run in another two tries. The fight back begun with a clever backs move, Carl Malthouse came forward into the line from his 15 position, which created space when he linked well with Lloyd Barthropp, the fleet footed winger left the defence dead and cleverly offloaded to Christiaan Brandt before he was bundled into touch. Gary Swift also caused issues with his aggressive play with ball in hand. It was Swift who led to the next try, ripping the ball from a Heathfield player he released Paul Smart who again put the ball through the hands before Kevin Parker broke into space again to release Mike Dangerfield, this time he only had 15 metres to canter in his second try. Paul Smart narrowly missed the tough conversion. Cinque Ports seemed to take the game by the scruff of the neck, and Heathfield found themselves making mistakes that led to penalties. Heathfield were in disarray at one of these penalties with their defence in tatters a quick tap allowed Dale Whittington the space to run in another hallmarked 45 metre try. Paul Smart converted. CPR were looking for more tries but the game ran out on them leaving them defeated but with a number of positives. Heathfield recognised that CPR has improved in leaps and bounds from the days of the friendlies of four years ago.
Lloyd Barthropp was named man of the match by the opposition, for his strong defence and his danger with the ball in hand. Carl Malthouse had a very secure game at full back under some testing long kicks, with back rowers Craig Barningham, Dean Dedman and Dale Whittington were secure as ever. The two props, Dave Butcher and Tony Lawlor worked well together and were prominent in the loose as well.
Manager Gavin Thomas was quick to highlight the positives "After a very nervy start CPR settled down and once again proved there is no replacement for pace or for our never say die attitude. Heathfield are top for a reason, but this is one result and I know we will get better- the return will be different".
Coach Bill Langley observed “There are a number of areas of play around the base of the scrum that will be looked at during training before we go on to another tough match away to Bognor III XV. They are another good experienced club side we will need to beat this season. We have faced a number of away games at the start of the season so these teams will have to travel to the Grove after Christmas when we will enjoy home advantage.”

Highlights from the game including a try saving tackle from Greg Stokes, Mike Dangerfield's 55m scoring run, a pressure kick from Garry Swift and Dale Whittington's scoring charge from 45m. Click to view larger pictures

Team: Lawlor, Wright, Butcher, Parker, Perry (Thomas/Earle), Dedman, Whittington, Barningham (Swift), Eastwood (Fink), Smart, Sams (Surridge), Brandt, Dangerfield, Barthropp, Stokes (Malthouse)
 
Bognor III away next Saturday KO 3pm Sussex 3 East Bishops Finger league fixture.