Rugby: Haywards Heath Colts gear up for exciting finish – East Grinstead Women are champs

Haywards Heath RFC Colts’ super season continued with a 50-12 win over Cranleigh Colts.

Following a Sussex Cup win over Hove, Heath were due to face Worthing in a league match that, with a bonus point win, would have seen them crowned Sussex Premier League champions.

Worthing had to cancel and a hastily arranged friendly was found at Cranleigh to maintain the fitness of the squad.

A Heath side showing 11 changes continued to play an attacking brand of rugby and, although initially met with a defensive wall, settled into the game and started to dominate possession, scoring three tries in the first half for a 0-19 lead.

Two quick tries for Heath at the start of the second half killed the game off and while Cranleigh fought back with a couple of tries, Heath ran out 12-50 winners.

Next they have a league game against Crowborough, followed by the Sussex Cup final against Brighton at Whitemans Green on April 23. The league game v Worthing will be at Whitemans Green on April 30.

The HHRFC base has a busy day on Sunday week (April 23) with Sussex Thunder’s American football team playing their first fixture at their new home as the club push a multi-sport strategy in the quest for a new clubhouse.

They hope to welcome local supporters of rugby and American Football for the match followed by live screening of the Brighton FA Cup semi-final.

See more about the day at www.hhrfc.co.uk

East Grinstead RFC’s women’s team are league champions.

It was a day that proved one for the history books as the women took on Camberley in their last game of the season with the aim of winning the title.

Turn back the clock one year and East Grinstead women were rounding off their first year in the NC3 league after 10 years of not being in any official league at all.

The 2021-22 season saw the women finish fourth in their table; but for this season, it was a very different story.

They were raring and ready to go on the back of a four-match winning streak. With the sun shining and a strong home crowd there to support, everything was set for a fantastic game of rugby.

Throughout the season, they have gone from strength to strength in various elements of their game. In particular, the team has sourced many tries from the dynamism of their back line with Wallis and Kraus scoring an abundance between them.

In the first half of this match, the women continued to draw from this strength, scoring three tries from some excellent agility from Wallis, Kraus and Shackel in the back line.

The women have also shown great strength in their forward carries with McCarthy, Muggeridge and Carrick becoming known for their storming runs through the defensive line.

Sunday's game again was a frenzy of great line breaks from the trio, with Carrick also earning herself a try in the first half.

With the scoreline 24-0 at half-time with two successful conversions from Lewis, the league title was firmly in the sights of the team.

Despite some good tackling from the Camberley side, the East Grinstead women continued dominating in the second half with blistering runs down the wings from Oliver and Gayle.

These runs, combined with some great scrummaging from Sutton, Teasdale and Cleary, led the women to score another four tries in the second half.

As a great kicker throughout the season, Lewis successfully converted two of these tries to further add to the scoreline.

With seven minutes left and a scoreline of 58-0, Camberley opted to finish the game early. This was swiftly followed by singing and corks popping, symbolising the beginning of a series of celebrations for the East Grinstead women as they acknowledged a great win and becoming league champions.

With eight wins out of 10 this season, a four-point lead, and a staggering 199 points difference, the women have had a season to be incredibly proud of.

Driven by the success of the England women's national team over the past five years, the number of adult women playing rugby has grown from 25,000 to 40,000 in England.

The RFU, as part of its Every Rose strategy, wants to grow the numbers to 100,000 by 2027. Fancy getting involved in this fast-growing women's sport? Get in touch at /www.egrfc.com or on Instagram or Facebook.

Warden Park Academy in Cuckfield is celebrating its U12, U13 and U14 teams making the county cup finals, with the 13s and 14s crowned champions.

Lots of their boys and girls play at Haywards Heath RFC and Warden Park have a number of students on the Harlequins Developing Player Programme.

The key is giving students who have never played rugby before the chance to experience the game when join in Year 7.

U12

The U12 came second in the league to a strong Downlands outfit and got to the County Cup final, losing to a Brighton College team.

They had victories over Seaford Head, Beacon, Bishop Luffa, St Philip Howard and Cardinal Newman.

A number of players new to rugby impressed.

U13

The U13 team produced the performance of the season against Cardinal Newman after losing to them three times this season.

At half-time Park were 15-0 up but knew what to expect in the second half. Ten minutes of constant Newman pressure ensued but the team withstood this test.

Some dynamic breaks from the Park captain allowed the team to gain some ground and get another score. The team also won the Sussex sevens.

U14

The Year 9 rugby team were crowned state school county champions after beating Cardinal Newman (Hove) 24-0 at Brighton Rugby Club.

The team have also beaten Chichester High School, Tanbridge House, The Weald, Imberhorne and Worth this year. Their only loss was in the All Schools County Cup in the semi-final to winners Hurstpierpoint College.

A number have joined Haywards Heath RFC. Four of the squad also were selected to be a part of the Harlequins Developing Player Programme.

U15

The Year 10 rugby team won the district league after a close 15-12 win versus Imberhorne. They reached the National Bowl last 16 and County Cup semi-finals.

Almost all are with Haywards Heath RFC and four are in the U15 Harlequins DPP.