Haywards Heath 2 v NARFC

This was a game of battles and character.

With only 2 of the 8 man scrum playing in normal positions this was going to be an area of concern, and indeed this is the way the match started.
The Heath dominant in possession and turning over the scrum in defence for the first 25 min. A little reorganisation though saw the Norfolk complete a turn around to gain equality by the end of the first half, and eventually see the scratch pack get there noses ahead for the second period.
The lineout was a pretty equal affair, with the Norfolk opting for catch and drive and Heath playing off the top both with measured success.
Indeed the first score cam from the Norfolk lineout followed by a powerful drive, this saw Tim Laker score his first forward based push over try, with an able assist from the driving pack and Mooey providing the final shove.
Whatters missed the conversion attempt 5-0 to the Norfolk.

This spurred Heath into action with their backs running many hard lines and being rebuffed by an equally determined Norfolk midfield.
Eventually a break through a rare doglegged defence let Heath in for the score, and a successful conversion followed, 7-5 to Heath.

The second half continued to see a midfield battle, with Heath edging possession, but a resolute defence and handling errors prevented Heath from adding further points.

Heath suffered a neck injury to one of their front row, which caused a 10 min stoppage in the game, we wish the Heath player a speedy recovery. The break seemed to favour Heath more than the Norfolk, as they started to make in roads with some strong running from their replacement full back. It was a slight surreal sequence of event that saw Heath finally breach the Norfolk try line, with the ball bouncing along the backline with both sets of players getting hands to the ball, it was Heath who maintained their attacking structure.
14-5 to Heath.

This motivated the Norfolk to press forward, with a multiple plays moving us up the pitch, the result was a typical scrum half snipe at the base of a ruck, finding the smallest piece of white wash to place the ball. A little confusion as to who should take the conversion and where the tee was, resulted in Tim Laker stepping up and drop kicking the conversion.
14-12 to Heath.

Heath responded almost immediately scoring a try that took the game back to a 7 point difference. The conversions was missed, giving hope in the dying minutes for the Norfolk. Alas time ran out with the Norfolk getting close to the Heath red zone.

Final score 19-12

In all a great team effort with many stepping up to assume unfamiliar positions.#
Big thanks have to go to Mooey, Tim and Tom for proving the front row.
A special thanks go to Will who enlisted a couple of Uni mates Scott and MoM Eddie

Note: Will also gained DotD for his dubious fashion choices.

Note2: The events are purely my recollection of events and may have no actual relevance to what actually occurred :-)

Bosch