Uckfield III 37 - 7 Cinque Ports Rugby (HT 15-7)
Benny Hanny - Man of the Match - in action against BHill.
Uckfield is becoming an increasingly unhappy hunting ground for CPR. A third visit of the season saw a second defeat (the other game being abandoned) and a third Cinque Ports player removed by ambulance. The game itself didn't suggest drama at the start, very scrappy possession for both sides resulted in a plethora of scrums. Cinque Ports seemed to have the upper hand in this set piece, and this allowed them to play the vast majority of the early exchanges in the Uckfield half. Uckfield as ever though were dangerous in the backs and they found themselves near the Cinque Ports line. Despite winning the ball against the head Uckfield picked up loose ball to score. Wounded by this CPR looked to run the ball, centre pairing of Luke Price and Paolo Perella giving their opposite numbers a testing time. Great game management by Paul Smart and Chris Eastwood also unleashed the back rowers Mike Dunne and Ben Hanny who brought a huge level of physicality to the game. A quickly taken penalty saw Uckfield score another, this seemed to wake CPR even more. Murray Whittington & Perella both came close before Whittington fell awkwardly in a tackle. Precautions saw him taken to hospital, fortunately the outcome was not too serious. The injury saw the game moved from the large first team pitch to a narrower pitch. This did hem in the runners of both sides. This narrower pitch certainly characterised the Cinque Ports score as Hanny ran the ball through the fringes from a penalty before being denied inches short, Dunne also had a drive close to the initial ruck. The ball was then worked wider and Dunne dived over with Nick Giles providing the shove for Dunne to score his third in three games. Smart converted. The game was up for grabs and both sides looked to take opportunities. Ross Kearney was a dangerous, twitchy presence in attack, supported by Eastwood and Smart's clever linking play. Despite this Uckfield extended their lead with a penalty.
After the change over the game soured a little, a yellow card for an Uckfield player seemingly gave CPR the upper hand. Good work saw CPR break down the flanks before a final pass went to ground. A number of opportunities like this were missed which let Uckfield off. Parity was restored when Kearney was yellow carded too for an accidental high arm. Uckfield then took advantage of a number of defensive lapses to run in 22 points in the final 12 minutes. CPR still looked dangerous even to the end despite this, an overlap opportunity saw Price unlucky to score and Hanny's dangerous running throughout always looked likely to lead to something. Uckfield ran out 30 points winners despite the game being in the balance until the final moments. Team Manager Gavin Thomas was rueful in defeat “Uckfield took their scores well, but we all know that we could have been in this until the last. A few loose passes were the difference between us getting something out of this and the actual final result. That said I'm really pleased with the physicality and directness we showed and even Uckfield know that the score flattered them".
Ben Hanny was named man of the match for an all round performance, strong with the ball in hand, destructive in defence. Mike Dunne also shone with a great back row performance
Team: Wan, Wright, Giles, Thomas (Pantry-Meyer), Barningham (Dedman), Dunne, Malthouse (Maye), Hanny (Langley), Eastwood, Smart, Whittington (Chambers), Price, Perella, Fink, Kearney
