Hellingly 12 Hastings & Bexhill 37

The first match of the new year and the first of a series of four, was approached with optimism, born out of a growing confidence. Hellingly, though missing the impressive outside centre who dominated the reverse fixture before Christmas, were able to field a full team, albeit topped up from neighbouring age groups.
 
On a heavy pitch H&B started strongly, enjoying most of the early possession.  Within five minutes the silky exuberance of Cameron Hughes’ runs from outside centre had carried him over the try line, only to lose control of the ball in contact. Within a couple of phases Sam Clark at No 8 made no mistake, charging over in the same corner.
 
Twenty minutes of good competitive rugby followed, marred by occasional handling errors, perhaps owing to the cold. Hooker Laurence Maynard was working hard to regain possession in the scrums and these set pieces were the foundation of many fine penetrating backs moves. Fly half Dan Evans orchestrated events through the confident hands of Adam Baker at centre who soon scored after much overlap running and passing out of contact.
 
Further pressure resulted in Joshua Streeter driving over for his first try in his first match for the club. Judging by the strength of his carrying, it won’t be his last. There had been definite improvement in the tackling and general defensive shape, Frazer Mcmanus excelling in his task at flanker.
 
At half time Hellingly brought on an under 15 back line to bolster their attacking threat and soon created a try scoring opportunity. Despite this H&B continued to go forward with some flair and full-back Max McKeown’s intelligent angled run and fine turn of speed saw him elude the Hellingly defence from almost half way to score under the posts, giving himself an easy conversion.
 
After Hellingly responded with a good score of their own, Max called the team into a huddle. They packed right for the kick but sent the ball left for two of the backs to exploit the weak defence, an entertaining and precocious move. The desperate cover defence conceded a penalty which the lively Dan Evans took quickly, gaining another ten metres as the defence failed to retreat. With Hellingly now back on their own try line Charlie Wells took a short pass at pace and powered over the line for a well deserved try.
 
H&B dominated the remainder of the half and scored again with Dan Evans, through his excellent support running, rounding off another aggressive piece of wing play from Russell Reid. There were many encouraging aspects to the team’s performance, not least the growing confidence evident in their play.
 
Hellingly, for their part, were sporting opponents and gracious hosts, providing an enjoyable post-match scene in their clubhouse.