29/11/09 v Eastbourne Lost 5 - 41

"Young guns denied by local rivals"

With three players unavailable from last week, H&B travelled to Eastbourne on yet another windy Sunday morning. While football games were being called of rugby kept on going. H&B without two props and their influential No 8 a changed side from last week took to the field captained by Jake Begg.

Playing into the wind H&B knew it was going to be hard against one of the best teams in the league so keeping the score down was the priority. Dan Bunn standing in at prop, Ollie Fisher flanking and Jake Begg taking the No8 role. Eastbourne came out all guns blazing first half but were forced into errors by the H&B defence.

Crunching tackles by Jake Begg, Harrison Cox, Archie Meakle and Harrison Turner meant there was no way though for the powerful Eastbourne forwards, as they tried to spin it wide only to find equal defence by Trystan Mayhew, Sam Wilson and Scott Sherwood.

The score at half time 17-0 to Eastbourne did not reflect the game as H&B had 75% of the possession but were unable to get into Eastbourne’s half.

The second half started, H&B with the wind were unable to capitalise as all the hard work in the first half had drained them. The game now more end to end saw H&B Captain Jake Begg go over for H&B’s only points of the game driving over from a maul set up by Ben Cutts. H&B almost had a second try as Sam Hirst outpaced the Eastbourne wing only to be called back for an earlier offence.

Man of Match Jake Begg