Heath V Warlingham

Normal, wet and windy rugby conditions returned to Whitemans Green with a last minute friendly against Warlingham RFC from South London.

The match was broken into 3 x 20 minute 'halves' designed with the intention of trying out some different combinations ahead of Heath's first league match against Jersey next weekend.

Heath started brightly enough, dominating Warlingham's set pieces, especially at the scrum where they stole numerous balls against the head. Although the Sussex boys were camped out in Warlingham's 22 they were unable to turn possession into points as they were slow hitting rucks and kept being isolated, further aggravated by the fact that Warlingham were strong tacklers and adept at counter rucking. As a consequence, all that possession proved fruitless and Warlingham eventually managed a break away try at 19 minutes. Hard rucking and good handling, followed by strong running and 5 missed tackles meant that Heath were 0-7 down at the first break.

Credit to Heath that their heads didn't drop as the second half began. Some forced changes meant a reshuffle in the pack and Heath lost their dominance in the scrums. The boys' confidence seemed to drift away as did the score line and they conceded two more tries. Heath were now off their stride; passive in attack, wayward in defence and making poor kicking decisions, not helped by a string of injuries which meant they had used all of their five subs by the end of the second period and were 19-0 down.

The final half saw Warlingham score another two tries. Heath tried to dig deep but every time they looked to up their game, the well organised and aggressive Warlingham boys were able to squash any real revival. Final score 33-0.

A useful match to remind the Heath lads that they need to increase the intensity, bring more aggression (especially at the break down), be more clinical when in possession, not kick the ball away, close down the space and TACKLE!

Onwards and upwards, lets see the boys raise their standards next weekend.