Hastings & Bexhill 10 Medway 3

Article courtesy of Hastings Observer 22/1/10 - Match Report Follows

"H&B eager to start playing again "

Hastings & Bexhill Rugby Club just wants to get back playing again after another postponement last weekend.

The cancellation of the trip to Crowborough in London Three South East means that their last two, and three of their last four scheduled matches have been called-off.

Captain Roger Roberts said: "We've had two weeks off and it kind of feels like another Christmas break. We're still up for it and training hard, but everyone just wants to get back into it."

The heavy rain of Saturday meant H&B weren't even able to train last weekend, but they did manage to get a session in on Tuesday and another was planned for last night (Thursday).

The Crowborough clash has been re-arranged for Saturday March 13, meaning H&B have just one free Saturday (April 3) between now and the end of the season in mid-April.

The hectic run-in will get under way tomorrow with a visit from a Medway side occupying fifth place following its promotion as Kent League champions last season.

Medway have won seven and lost four of their 11 league fixtures so far, while second-from-bottom H&B have lost nine of their 11, drawing one and winning the other.

Although comfortable 47-0 winners in the reverse fixture on October 17, Medway have suffered a long period of inactivity - their last game was way back on December 12.

"They're a very organised team and you could see they've put a lot of work into it," continued Roberts. "But I think we exposed a few of their weaker areas, and (the Claughton brothers) Piers and Kit will look to target those weaknesses.

"I'm confident, but our backs have got to step up this week. I'm looking at our backline and it's good. It's coming together, they're running nice lines and breaking lines."

Anthony Roche should be available but there is a question mark over Richard Brooks.

Kick off at William Parker Sports College is 2.15pm

Hastings & Bexhill 10 Medway 3

THREE months ago H&B were handed a rugby lesson at Medway, and dismantled 46-0.

On Saturday, in the mud of William Parker, they demonstrated just how far they’ve come on both in technique and as a confident and cohesive team.

They handled the conditions, and the ball, better than their fifth-placed London League Three opponents, and in the process notched up their second win and moved up the table out of the relegation zone.

Not that victory looked assured until very late in this hard-fought, end-to-end attritional battle. But H&B showed a composure that’s been growing in recent games, and in the first half they soaked up everything Medway could throw at them and built a number of well-judged attacks of their own.

Several powerful forays frustratingly failed only when the line beckoned, and a string of well-worked offloads, and hard-driven rucks and mauls, were squandered with a final knock-on or a turnover.

Medway, in turn, tested the home side’s back three with long, probing kicks and good chases. But H&B’s defensive organisation has strengthened game by game, and Medway never looked like breaching it, though the visitors were quick and dangerous at the breakdown, leaving H&B vulnerable to penalties from their accomplished kicker.

Having barely missed a long opportunity half an hour into the game, Medway duly took a 0-3 lead two minutes later from a lineout offence. But H&B continued to dominate their own lineouts, and push Medway around in the set piece and maul, providing some good ball for the backline, who ran it at Medway at every opportunity, making swathes of ground.

Still the visitors managed to contain H&B, and turn the ball over at crucial moments, and it began to look like so many previous games -  a case of nice effort but no cigar. Moments before half-time H&B got the chance to draw level with a penalty in front of the posts, but the kick was missed, and they went into halftime trailing by three points.

H&B rocketed out for the second half, driving into Medway’s 22 and winning a penalty, which they kicked for touch. From the lineout, they set up a maul, barrelling over for a pushover try, claimed by Andrew Hitch.

At 5-3 up, big-hitting H&B gradually began to dominate Medway, who lost their influential skipper to injury, and with him seemed to lose their confidence too, notably in the backs for whom the ball suddenly turned into a bar of soap. A superb backs move by H&B looked certain to score, until a Medway official (who wasn’t running the line) raised his arm to signify Ben Campbell had put a foot in touch (he wasn’t even close), and the referee blew his whistle.

The tricked referee decided a penalty was punishment enough, happily a judgement that didn’t ultimately affect the outcome of the game.

H&B then proceeded to create several more well-crafted opportunities to score, and butcher each of them at the death without the help of outside influences. Thus, with the visitors’ number eight sinbinned, H&B shoved them around in the setpiece, battered the ball through the middle, moved it wide and ran at the still-determined but tiring defence, and looked every bit potential winners - except for that elusive score that would shut the game out.

The breakthrough finally came with a turned-over scrum in midfield. The ball was whipped wide, and Ben Campbell looked unstoppable as he scooted round the defence for a try in the corner.

At 10-3, and with minutes left to play, it was still theoretically possible for Medway and their dead-eye kicker to snatch a draw, but H&B’s resolve has slowly grown from early-season chihuahua into a mutt with a bit more rottweiler in it, and they retained control until the final whistle.

Team: Roche, Davies, Spatchurst (Sheppard), Clifford, Adams, Hitch, Sandeman, Piotrowski, Piers Claughton (c), Kit Claughton, Campbell, Diedericks (Morgan & Lamplugh man-of-the-match), Brooks, Hollingsworth, Brampton. Subs not used: Madigan, Stinson.

Anthony Roche should be available but there is a question mark over Richard Brooks.

Kick off at William Parker Sports College is 2.15pm

Photos below are courtesy of: TONY COOMBES PHOTOGRAPHY (www.tonycoombesphotography.fotki.com )