Cranbrook 9 Hastings & Bexhill 5

HASTINGS & Bexhill were more disappointed at the end of this hammer-and-tongs clash than at any other result this season.

They felt they could and should have won it - and trailing 6-5 in the final quarter - having scored the only try of the game - believed they were going to snatch victory right up to the moment when Cranbrook kicked a third penalty on the final whistle.

Cranbrook’s season has been one of dangerous backs thwarted by a pack pushed around by bigger opposition. But newly returned key forwards put a totally different and unexpected complexion on the home side’s performance - and H&B found themselves faced with as fierce a challenge as any this season.
The weather added to the unexpected elements of the game. Cranbrook served up the first muddy pitch, and grey, misty day, of the season.

An inexperienced referee distracted by the pressure of a noisily assertive home touchline (partly composed of third teamers who’d cried off their game at Hastings at the last minute) also played a minor role in H&B’s undoing - or rather didn’t, as Cranbrook understandably took advantage of a seemingly free pass to roam offside at will.

Cranbrook came out fired up, clearly set on physical domination. With H&B having trained hard during the week, and equally determined to take control of the game, the low-scoring first half was high octane as far as defensive big hits and fierce clashes in the breakdown area were concerned.

The hosts surprisingly had the better of the set scrums and quicker and cleaner possession. But after early exchanges their backline rarely ran good ball at their opposite numbers, instead preferring an apparently strictly structured gameplan, kicking long to the corners.

While this meant that H&B’s more organic off-loading approach of seeking a breakthrough with ball in hand confined them to their own half for minutes on end, it was they who created the only serious try-scoring threats of the game.

What cost both sides their momentum was an unusually high turnover rate - some forced by hard tackling, some by gratuitous five-thumbed handling, much of it in the form of seemingly random penalties for flopping over, hanging onto the ball, or handling in the ruck.

While Cranbrook certainly enjoyed an edge in the first half, both in territory and possession, H&B drastically reduced their hosts’ attacking options. The pack - despite missing regular flankers including skipper Paul Sandeman - tackled aggressively at the breakdown, the centre partnership of Dillon Newell and Ash Diedericks made some thumping hits on their potentially dangerous opposite numbers, and scrum half Piers Claughton snuffed out attacks from the back of the scrum before they could begin.

Despite an exchange of penalty kicks, the first quarter stayed scoreless, while the battle of physical and tactical domination remained unresolved.

In the second quarter, another missed penalty opportunity by Cranbrook was followed by a period of pressure from them, but H&B’s defence, and turnovers from both sides, maintained the status quo until a penalty under the posts finally gave the hosts a 3-0 lead with only first half injury time remaining.

H&B immediately came within a whisker of scoring with a burst of their most effective style of rugby. From a lineout in Cranes’ half, Steve McManus drove hard at the defence, forwards produced quick ball for a backs switch move to Ben Campbell, who popped back to Piers Claughton, quick hands to his brother Kit, an accurate long miss-pass to Newell, onto Diedericks and - with the defence for once prised open, the final pass fumbled with the tryline beckoning.

In the second half H&B markedly improved their scrummaging, while Jimmy Adams athletically caught most of H&B’s lineout ball and nicked much of Cranbrook’s.

The difference was that when Cranbrook did win their lineout it was with fast, off-the-top ball, while H&B struggled to create quick, controlled ball all game. Steve McManus was working like a man half his age, carrying the ball into the opposition at every opportunity.

Despite another missed penalty kick by Cranes, the impetus was swinging slightly in the visitors’ favour. Both sides were mounting attacks, but H&B were producing the try-threatening moves. A break round a maul by Piers Claughton, followed by Rob McManus shrugging off two defenders, and the indefatigable Adams bursting towards the line ended with a fine smother tackle preventing the final pass.

The impasse ended 20 minutes into the half, with a break by Kit Claughton, precision interplay with his brother, a strong carry by Tom Spatchurst, and then down the line for Ben Campbell to dive over in the corner, for a narrow 3-5 lead.

A pinpoint long pass by Kit Claughton to Newell minutes later again looked promising, as H&B seemed on the verge of making the game theirs, but the hard work and gritty determination of the hosts kept H&B out. With penalties something of a lottery, it was Cranbrook whose pressure paid off with a kick from the 22 line to retake the lead, 6-5.

The last quarter of an hour played out much of the rest of the game: Cranbrook kicking long to keep H&B in their own half; the visitors keeping the ball alive and probing aggressively for defensive gaps; both sides’ passionate defence - and handling errors in the damp conditions - proving the decisive factor.

A final penalty kick for a late tackle saw Cranbrook seal their win on the final whistle, with H&B having to settle for a lone bonus point.

Young second team players Toby Finzel, Chris Jarvis and John-Jo Dawes all made an effective impact from the bench.

“The reason for entering the Kent league was for better quality opposition and a harder league; we are getting that, week in and week out,” said backs coach Kit Claughton.

“There is far more satisfaction in playing in a tough game against good opposition (and in this case losing) than playing poorly and winning 50-0, which we did last season.

“The aim for us is to return to London Three and stay there; Kent One has shown we're not good enough yet to do that - we can match anyone on our day, and we can also get beaten by anyone, but if we keep improving, maybe in a couple of seasons we'll be there.”

H&B: Roche, Umpleby (JJ Dawes), Spatchurst, Adams (c), Luff, R McManus (Jarvis), Roberts, S McManus, P Claughton, K Claughton, Harbord, Diedericks, Newell, Campbell, Steadman (Finzel).

Match Report by Russ C