With good news in short supply in these troubled times, the Club received a welcome boost last week with the announcement from the English Rugby Union that with the 2019/20 rugby season brought to a premature conclusion Heath were to be promoted as champions of the London SE2 division.

A period of uncertainty had followed the cancellation of the season’s remaining fixtures with rumours circling that there would be no promotion and relegation or alternatively that the league positions would be taken as they stood at the 14th March when some of the last matches were played to decide which teams would go up and down. Given that Heath had been the stand-out team in the division but were sitting in second place only by virtue of having games in hand, because of postponements due to a waterlogged Whitemans Green, any ruling other than a promotion would have been a hugely disappointing end to a fantastic campaign.

The rugby gods were, however, smiling on the Mid Sussex side and with the announcement from Twickenham that an RFU taskforce would sit in pools panel style to look at the results from each division and assess likely finishing positions based on previous results and the number of wins secured meant that a quiet confidence fell over the senior squad as they awaited the verdict.

In what was probably the first ruling announced by remote Zoom call, the squad and coaches gathered online to hear the news from Sussex RFU that Heath had indeed won the league and were to be promoted as champions back into London 1 for the first time since the 2013 /14 season after what has been a roller-coaster 6 years for the club.

Having gone through the 2013/14 season without a win in London 1, Heath were relegated to London SE2 but worse was to follow when, at the start of the following season, unable to field a team for the first fixture, they were then forced to forfeit their position in that division and drop down the leagues to Sussex Division 2 and instead take up the fixtures of their second team. With the players rallying round and enjoying the buzz of playing rugby for fun, initially under the captaincy of Nick Main and subsequently skippered by Sam Drage, three consecutive promotions saw the squad return to London SE2 where they showed they could mix it with the best in that league, albeit without the week in week out consistency required to challenge for the title.

A seventh place in the first season back was improved upon the following year when, under the leadership of Lead Coach Ross Chisholm and his coaching team, the Heath squad consolidated their position as one of the top sides in the division by finishing fourth. The platform had been set for the 2019/20 season allowing the squad to target promotion whilst playing without inhibition and with a resilience and belief that they would emerge victorious whoever the opposition and whatever position they found themselves in on the pitch.

After strong pre-season showings against Farnham and Horsham, Heath faced a formidable first game of the season away at Gravesend, a side who six years earlier had beaten Heath 74-5 in London 1. A trademark defensive display from Heath in front of a highly vocal home crowd saw Heath dig in and come away with a toughly fought 8-14 win, setting the tone for the season.

A big home win against Old Alleynians, which included a Jack Lucas hattrick of tries, was followed by a good win away at Dover and then a 50 point to 17 win over Deal & Betteshanger which included two tries for Charlie Best taking his tally for the season to five before leaving for New Zealand.

Then came one of only two blips in the season when Heath lost away to Old Colfeians who turned out to be their closest challengers for the title. A combination of over-confidence and new formations on the pitch, coupled with the challenge of a huge Colfes pack, saw Heath trailing 27-0 after half an hour. Even then the Heath resilience shone through as they dominated the second half and came away with a four try bonus point after going down 34-26.

Heath got back on track after beating a physical Charlton Park side by 15-7 which they backed up with more routine wins against Thanet, a win which included four tries for the prolific James Flicker, Maidstone and Beccehamians.

Next up were two Sussex derbies against sides who were both in the top four in the league. Highflying Crowborough seemed confident of obtaining a result at Whitemans Green but were put away by the red and blacks in fairly straightforward fashion 24-5, which was followed up by a hard won 12-19 victory against old foes Hove to leave Heath top of the league at the Christmas break.

Too much festive cheer was a possibility or just the effect of a month off rugby but the second blip came with the first game of the new year away at an in-form Old Alleynians with Heath going down to a surprise defeat by 33-19.

It was at this stage of the season that the weather really took over and the cumulative effect of persistent rain in Mid Sussex since the beginning of October took its toll on Whitemans Green, with no training taking place on grass at the club since November and the 1st XV pitch a quagmire, causing the game against Dover to be postponed and what was effectively the title decider against Old Colfeans to be moved to Horsham’s ground which was just about playable.

This was an epic encounter in which Colfes threw everything at Heath attempting to brutalise the home side with their big forwards and having by far the upper hand in the set piece for the first 30 minutes of the game. Heath’s renowned defence stood firm and the side called up its collective inner belief to thwart the waves of crash balls from the Colfes’ forwards. Once the storm had been weathered Heath took control and whilst the 23-3 end score line may have flattered the home side, the result was never in doubt from half time and their closest rival had been sent home without so much as a bonus point for their endeavours.

With a lot of players missing, a much changed side including some old faces helped Heath beat Dover in the rearranged fixture which turned out to be the only game played at Whitemans Green in 2020 and the re-scheduled away match at Charlton Park turned out to be the final game of the season – and what a game it was. Yet again unavailable players meant more changes as Heath set off for what has historically been one of the most difficult fixtures on the road knowing that this was one of three games in hand they had over league leaders Old Colfeans. Once again the Heath defence had to show all its resolve in keeping the home side out and after taking the lead in the second half looked to be facing defeat as a penalty try saw Charlton Park leading 17-15 with the last play of the game. Yet again the never say die spirit kicked in and a historic win was pulled out of the fire when Lucas tapped a penalty under his own posts, burst through the defence and off-loaded to the supporting Dougie Kern to touchdown for a final score of 17-22.

The rearranged Thanet and Maidstone games in hand never got to be played and the season ground to a halt as rugby entered lockdown and the RFU commenced deliberations as to who should be league winners. Fine margins in some games but clearly the best side in the league saw Heath home as champions with a game of suffocating defence and a willingness to attack from any part of the pitch.

Whilst this was a huge team effort there were some notable individual performances over the 16 league matches with James Flicker heading the try scoring table with 9 tries followed by Lucas (8), Kern and Salisbury (7) and Diggle (6). The top points scorers were Lucas (74), Warwick (56) and Flicker (45). Appearances were headed by Charles Newey who played in all 16 games closely followed by 15 appearances each from captain Sam Drage, Lucas and Salisbury.

Ross Chisholm was rightly proud of his squad for their achievement in getting promoted and great credit should go to not only Ross for the belief he brought to the players but also to his assistant coaches Jim Taylor and Martin McTaggart, his captain Sam Drage plus physio Tim Margrett and manager Glen Jones.

Heath await the resumption of rugby and the announcement of next season’s London 1 fixtures with bated breath. The need for a new Clubhouse at Whitemans Green takes on extra urgency so that Heath is better equipped on and off the pitch for the new challenges ahead. The Club’s main sponsor Fairfax remains committed to helping make sure this happens as soon as possible and the Club’s fundraising efforts continue even in lockdown with 1st XV player Jamie Diggle raising over £1,000 recently with his lookalike impersonation via social channels of the current Netflix favourite Tiger King.

2019/20 Appearances: Newey(16); Drage S; Lucas; Salisbury (15); Doku; Flicker; McPherson P (14); Diggle; McLoughlin (13); Kern; McPherson H; Drage M; Fergusson G (11); McDonagh; Reeves-Perrin (10); Ashley; Beckett; Holyland (9); Best C (8); Warwick (7); Dimelow (6); Bridges; Smith (5); Cleary(4); Erritt; Menefy; Taylor; Best J; Dickson; Fraser; Liddell; Milner; Townsend (2); Bull; Hicks; Neill; Norrell; Preston-Bell; Russell; Shotton (1).
Try Scorers: Flicker 9; Lucas 8; Kern 7; Salisbury 7; Diggle 6; Best C 5; McPherson H 4; Doku 3; McPherson P 3; Warwick 2; Reeves-Perrin 2; Bridges 1; Drage M 1; Drage S 1; Fergusson 1; Smith 1.
Other points: Warwick 46; Lucas 34; Reeves-Perrin 10; Best C 4.