Rugby: Eastbourne make it Count … Horsham beaten by Bracknell… Haywards Heath get better of Burgess Hill

Eastbourne 29 Old Walcountians 8

Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex

Eastbourne triumphed in a game in which both sides showcased unwavering determination.

The contest incredibly tight from the outset, with neither team willing to concede an inch. Eastbo

In the early stages, Eastbourne broke the deadlock with a precise penalty kick from Jake Howe.

Old Walcountians refused to be deterred, responding with staunch defence and determined counter-attacks.

The momentum swung back and forth as both teams fought tooth and nail for dominance.

Old Walcountians capitalised on some hard running in open play. They orchestrated a seamless sequence of moves, culminating in a try that shifted the momentum in their favour.

In the 38th minute, Old Walcountians suffered a setback as one of their players was shown a yellow card and sent to the sin bin. The numerical disadvantage did little to dampen their resolve.

As the second half began, the dynamics of the game began to shift as Eastbourne seized control.

The resilience of Old Walcountians started to wane, allowing Eastbourne to assert their authority.

They launched wave after wave of attacks deep into the opposition's territory, forcing Old Walcountians on to the back foot.

Old Walcountians found themselves increasingly on the defensive as Eastbourne's dominance grew with each passing minute. Fatigue began to take its toll on the visitors.

The breakthrough for Eastbourne came in spectacular fashion when Jeremy Montes initiated a pick and go from the scrum, just 10m out. His decisive effort ignited the crowd and provided Eastbourne with a crucial score.

Following up on his initial burst for the first try of the half, Montes went again from the base of the scrum with some impressive support running, drawing in defenders before offloading to Mason Dowle, who embarked on an easy run-in to score Eastbourne's second try.

The dominance of Eastbourne's forwards once again came to the fore as they orchestrated a fluid passage of play, setting the stage for their third try.

The forwards created an opening before passing the ball out to Aaron Hossack, whose graceful movement seemed effortless as he glided through the defence with astonishing ease, adding another try to Eastbourne's tally.

Eastbourne's relentless pressure continued to pay dividends. From a solid scrum, they gained possession, allowing MoM Hossack, to showcase his versatility. He cleverly kicked the ball through for captain Jake Howe to chase down, culminating in an outrageous attempt at a Chris Ashton-style "splash down" finish,to the delight of the Eastbourne supporters.

Eastbourne were 29-8 winners, their exhilarating display of running rugby securing a well-deserved victory and showcasing their depth of talent.

Horsham 19 Bracknell 24

Regional 1 South Central

Promoted as champions last season, it’s no secret that Horsham have found life tough in tier five this campaign, their highest level.

But they worried upper-table semi-professional visitors Bracknell last Saturday at Coolhurst leading 14-0 before the break only for a last-ditch opposition try to snatch the spoils away from them.

In need of points to secure survival at their new level, Horsham’s Josh Earle finalised a driving maul after just two minutes, coolly converted by Oli Chennell.

Amid dominant possession, Max Greatwood scored the second try, with another successful Chennell kick putting Horsham 14-0 up.

Then, with half-time beckoning, Bracknell broke away for a fine solo running try out wide, unconverted, giving Horsham a 14-5 advantage at the break.

Already safe, fifth-placed Bracknell had nothing to play for, pride apart, but they resumed strongly, pinning Horsham back in their own half, and the pressure soon rewarded the visitors with a maximised try.

Horsham were defending valiantly, but Bracknell pushed over again, the extras taking the score to 14-19.

Horsham eventually levelled the score, winger Alex Mannhardt posting their third well-finished try under pressure following a multi-phase attack, the kick going astray, so it was 19-19 with 15 minutes remaining.

With Horsham tiring, Bracknell stole the game 19-24 with a try in the dying moments.

Horsham chairman Richard Ordidge told the County Times: “That was a good battling performance, holding a strong top-half side right to the end, when unfortunately they broke through.”

Second-placed Camberley are Horsham’s next opponents – at home on March 2.

Bournemouth are bottom with 22 points. Horsham occupy the penultimate berth, four points adrift of 10th-placed Marlborough.

Don’t miss a feature on the progress of the rugby club – coming soon in the County Times and on sussexworld.co.uk/sport

Burgess Hill 15 Heath 35

Counties 2 Sussex

A large crowd welcomed the teams to what was a much anticipated local derby even though the sides were at very different ends of the league table.

Much more focused than their previous away game Heath were quickly into their work and attacking the Burgess Hill try line playing up the slope. Possession 10 metres out after good work from the forwards saw veteran second row Dan Shotton through the middle of a ruck for an early score converted by Tom Wharton for 0-7.

From the restart Heath efficiently cleared their lines and worked back to the Burgess Hill danger zone. Notwithstanding some strong Burgess Hill tackling Heath maintained their momentum when captain Will Purdy picked up and powerfully drove his way through defenders and over the line for Heath’s second try, the extras were again snaffled by Wharton giving the visitors a 0-14 lead after 15 minutes.

Some poor execution from Heath when trying to overplay meant they allowed Hill to grow into the game and when restored to a full complement after the return of their yellow carded player, they started to turn the screw and spent a good ten minutes camped in the Heath 22 battering away at the line.

Turning down the kick for goal from yet another Heath infringement Hill boldly went for a scrum 15 metres out from where they broke left and, although Heath stopped the initial surge, from the ensuing ruck a dart down the blind side saw the home side over for a try which was converted from out wide for 7-14.

Heath's press from the kick off saw Hill stripped of the ball on their own 22 metre line and fed first phase to inside centre Jack Lucas who threw a dummy and went through the hole, beating two defenders and scoring under the posts, his first try since recently returning to the Club. Wharton knocked over the extras to put distance between the sides with a 7-21 scoreline. The half continued with Heath in the ascendancy but neither side could get within range to score or add further to their tally.

The second half was a different matter and a combination of some indifferent Heath decision making coupled with a fierce work ethic in defence and at the breakdown from Hill saw the game become far more competitive.

As much as Heath tried to play, the Hill defensive set up made life difficult for the visitors with the pressure forcing forward passes, knock-ons and infringements at the breakdown. The impressive boot of the Hill number 10 saw the home side gaining regular territory and when Heath fell offside in kickable range the penalty was duly banged over for 10-21.

Instead of trying to play their rugby just in the bottom corners of the Hill 22, Heath continued to be over ambitious and paid the price. Another penalty from the home side slid wide but wasn't cleared properly by Heath. The ensuing tap penalty saw Hill maul up to and over the line, scoring for 15-21 and very much game on making the next score vital for both.

Heath carved out a couple of chances from long range with breaks from Christian Streater and Henry Starkey gaining ground but the last pass or wrong decisions in the red zone meant no score. However, eventually the pressure told with the Heath pack stepping up in the loose and when another break from Streater was snuffed out by a fabulous covering tackle, Hill were penalised for going off their feet at the ruck. A quick tap was shifted wide where Wharton flew over in the corner before converting his own try for 15-28 and the bonus point.

A touch harshly on Hill as they didn't deserve the score line Heath went over again in the dying minutes with winger Takhy Ndiaye Marrero beating defenders wide on the left before skipping past the covering tackle in the corner and putting the icing on the cake with Heath's fifth try, again converted by Wharton.

This was a proper old fashioned derby played in good spirit with 100% commitment by both sides and no quarter given by either saw the red and black of Heath take the victory against the Sussex All Blacks and move to within two points of top of the table Pulborough who are their next opponents in two weeks’ time. It looks like being an exciting run in for Heath in the league to the end of the season and with cup matches to come next month there’s plenty of competitive community rugby yet to be played at Whitemans Green.

Heath: Ben Broster; Will Purdy(capt); Euan Greaves-Smith; Charlie Fenwick; Dan Shotton; Tom Smith; Lewis Goodall; Ellis Dubois; Jamie Thurston; Christian Streater; Matt Cains; Jack Lucas; Tom Wharton; Takhy Ndiaye Marrero; Gabe Moore; Harry Edwards; Kai Dolan; Henry Starkey