IN PICTURES: Horsham Rugby Club under-15s suffer Sussex Trophy heartbreak
A devastating 15 minute first half spell cost Horsham, as Heathfield ran-in tries almost at will - but the young Green and Whites restored some pride after the break, when Matt Collier scored the only points of the second half in soaking wet conditions in Worthing.
After an evenly contested opening to the final, Horsham’s kicking game, especially from penalties, became wayward. And a ruthless heathfield outfit capitalised, with Sussex full back Ollie Batchelor the architect, as he cleverly linked up with his half backs to mastermind a five try haul, four of which were efficiently converted by the extravagantly-named centre Mylo Vanner-Mackew.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdBizarrely much of the first period was contested in Heathfield’s half of the pitch, but when the Green & Whites kicked possession away, the result more often than not was a rampaging opposition try which had started from deep in Heathfield territory.
Horsham responded well after the break, the forwards held their own in the scrum, while Justin Dzomekuh and Joe Roche came on to good effect. There was some good interplay between Alex Clery and George Palmer, full back James Tandy made his customary try-saving tackle and after much muddy midfield attrition, Horsham finally got the ball wide and winger Matt Collier went over for Horsham’s consolation score. Roche almost added a second try, but Heathfield were worthy winners.