17/10/09 v Medway Lost 00 - 46

WHEN a side has lost its first five league games, the latest by an England cricket score to nil, there’s no denying it’s in trouble.

But nor is there much point in breast-beating, not when the side acknowledges its shortcomings and is doing all it can on the training paddock and on the field to put them right - and on Saturday took the game to their more accomplished hosts at every opportunity.

Indeed the difference in the success of converting attacking ambition into tries was largely one of defensive organisation. While H&B’s cobbled-together team-in-progress never gave up running at Medway’s line, looking for ways of breaking their polished defence, Medway’s athletic backline and dynamic backrow showed just how it should be done, attacking with elan and great timing to scythe through the visitors outwitted defence for a series of tries in the first and third quarters of the game.

The visitors’ defensive inexperience as a team found H&B’s backs and forwards wrong-footed so often that individual tacklers were made to look weaker and less effective than they really are.

And although H&B’s big pack won plenty of lineout ball - not least thanks to Ben Davies’ accurate throwing - it was Medway who won the most usable off-the-top ball. The set scrum went well for H&B in the first half, with the returned Steve Lovick dominant, but crumbled towards the end of the game. And as usual in the ruck and maul, H&B spoilt a lot of good individual effort with poor control, body position and discipline. The absence of Jimmy Adams and Mike Lawless was sorely felt.

The young but buoyant backline enjoyed their most effective game yet with ball in hand. With all three of this season’s number 10s unavailable, Piers Claughton moved out to fly half and Matt Harbord stepped in at scrum half. As a result the point of attack was well varied, and a number of forays were made into Medway’s 22, a couple of times being ended frustratingly close to the line.

Ashley Diedericks (Morgan & Lamplugh man-of-the-match) showed what he is capable of with some well-balanced, powerful runs and excellent last-ditch tackles, and fellow teenagers Ben Petty at fullback and winger Bruce Steadman - peppered with long range kicks by Medway’s excellent fullback - looked ambitious and dangerous with ball in hand.

For all that, and despite holding the score at 13-0 from the 15th minute of the game to five minutes into the second half, H&B were outplayed and outclassed at key moments throughout the game. Medway’s tries almost all came from sweeping counterattacks, effortlessly carrying the ball half the length of the pitch after turning over a laboured H&B attack.

But H&B have known from season’s start that they have an uphill battle this season, as last. They have a smaller and less experienced squad than any other club in their league, and they have far fewer recruitment options than their rivals. Their attitude is that they have to work hard with the players they’ve got, and turn inexperienced talent and unabated enthusiasm into an effective team.

To some extent it’s a race against the clock - can they improve in time to earn survival in London League Three? They can perhaps take heart from high profile examples in other sports. Rugby league’s Catalan Dragons started this season losing game after game - and ended the season in play-off contention. And then there’s Lewis Hamilton...

H&B: Lovick, Davies, Spatchurst (Edmunds), Sheppard, Clifford, Cullingford, Sandeman, Piotrowski, Harboard, P Claughton (c), Steadman, Campbell, Diedericks, Woolcott , Petty (Brampton). Sub: Umpleby