A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step might very well have been said about travelling to Hastings on a cold December lunchtime. In fact we passed Frodo and Sam with the ring somewhere around Buxted and having surveyed the cold desolate expanse on arrival we all agreed that it was here, at the gates of Mordor, that the future of Middle Earth would be decided (or at least promotion to the top tier of Sussex U14 rugby). All were looking forward to the third competitive waterfall match of the season (reminder: it’s December).

After a slightly staccato warm up, the team took the field looking like the well-drilled unit they are, well 14 of them did, and an arithmetically astute referee delayed kick off when the team got up to full compliment. The opposition were well-drilled and the concern feeling was that Heath were in for a tough match. That concern lasted the 44 seconds it took the team to get possession from the kick-off and send Callum C-M into space to run most of the length of the pitch to score and Ed H to add the afters. The match then settled down whilst the teams traded jabs (to mix my sporting metaphors). In the 8th minute Heath got a penalty just outside the Hastings 22 and, for all the world, made it look like they were kicking to touch. Instead, with tactical genius, the ball dropped short of touch, allowing Jack J to pick up and send James D in at the corner.

Then followed a good passage of play with Ed H doing an inventive kick through and some direct running from Olly St allowing Dylan H the opportunity to show us his trademark pick and go from the base of a ruck and run from distance (and given this he is a prop some would say incredible distance), to score under the posts which Ed H converted.

By this stage Hastings were beginning to sweat like some spiced avocado wraps in Waitrose but to their credit a sustained period of pressure was rewarded with a forwards’ try. With half time imminent it would have been easy for heads to drop but straight from the kick-off Heath Dylan H superbly charged down a kick allowing Olly St to pounce and score. Not only that, from the restart kick ball through the hands from Alfie S and Olly Si allowed Callum C-M to be propelled up field and a show-and-go later he was in again. Half time 7-29 (yes, it’s only half time).

The second half began with our finishers George C, Stan and Sam C entering the fray. A good jackal from Olly Si set up a classic Sam G charge leaving defender in his wake and Ed H to add the extras. There then followed an even period of play, some sniping runs from Alfie S, great work in the tight from Archie K, good set piece from the front row including Louis K and Toby B (we never lost a line out all day!), a few handling errors, a few penalties and refereeing explanations and substitutions as the flow of play broke up slightly. Eventually a James D pick up and break from midfield conjured another try.

Hastings showed great determination and no little skill to rumble over for another try with 5 minutes to go, giving us a glimpse of what might have been for them. The match ended with George S taking one in the chops and some big hits from Oli St. Full time 12-41 (phew).

Overall as our heroes trudged off the crowd were left to clap a hard-earned victory and pleasantries exchanged between team ref and fellow supporters alike. Heath’s quest for the “most sporting supporters in the league” carries on for a 9th consecutive season without success.

After much consideration and debate the Man of the Match award goes to ……. rugby – the true winner here.