An air of anticipation hung over the supporters at Whitemans Green as Heath, fresh from their quarter-final win over higher league opposition Hastings & Bexhill RFC the previous weekend, prepared to face old Sussex rivals Hove who have been playing their rugby this season three divisions higher in London South West 2. The winners of this Bob Rogers Sussex Cup semi-final would play in the county final next weekend.

Kicking off playing up the hill Heath appeared undaunted by the visitors league status and from a couple of ventures into the opposition 22 could easily have got on the board but for making mistakes at crucial moments. A knock on from a line out 5 metres out, inaccuracy at a ruck when attacking the Hove line and failing to hit an overlap meant Heath coughed up possession too easily and the visitors were able to clear their lines. The game remained highly competitive and mainly played in the middle of the park until on 15 minutes Hove worked their way into the Heath 22 and, showing exactly how to be clinical, scored a try from their first trip to the red zone for 0-7.

Things took a turn for the worse when Heath lost a player to the bin for a no-arms tackle and Hove looked to take advantage. Heath showed some real resolution to hold the visitors at bay and, other than a few kicks through which were well marshalled by the back three, managed to negotiate being a player down with little drama and no further points for the visitors. On 34 minutes a scrum wide left just inside the Hove ten metre line saw number 8 Bobby Collins pick and go down the blind side where he was eventually pulled down. Quick recycled ruck ball was moved into midfield where colt Jack Flower cut a beautiful line through defenders before straightening and out pacing the cover to score. Tom Wharton stepped up and added the extras to pull it back to 7-7.

Hove came back strongly but Heath were able to hold out until the half time whistle.

Turning round with the slope now in their favour, the crowd could sense that Heath were up for this and the game was there to be won. Wharton kicked well for territory and some quick thinking from free kicks and penalties kept Hove on the back foot. Twelve minutes into the second half a penalty to Heath saw a quick tap and break from Evan Herbert from where the ball went through the hands to Rob Ellis who took the ball deep into Hove territory before being dragged down just short but with a clever off load found the supporting Euan Greaves-Smith who smashed his way over for a well worked try. Wharton picked up from the previous week’s performance and knocked the conversion over from out wide to make it 14 -7 to Heath.

Hove showed their mettle by piling back into Heath and spent nearly 10 minutes camped in the home 22. Heath held out despite numerous scrums, lineouts and penalties near their line and somehow weathered the storm. A kick and chase down field relieved the pressure and the marauding Heath tacklers forced a turnover and a penalty just inside the Hove 10 metre line which saw a Hove man shown yellow. Wharton stepped up and slotted the three pointer for a lead of 17-7 with just under 15 minutes remaining.

Again Hove worked their way back up field and kept turning the screw applying relentless pressure close to the try line. More penalties ensued and after a a valiant defensive effort the Heath line was eventually breached with Hove scoring a try for 17-12. A quickly taken drop goal attempted conversion was missed meaning that Hove need to score a try in the remaining two minutes of time. Heath kicked long into Hove territory and forced a penalty but then, with tension brewing, messed up the ensuing line out. Hove won a penalty of their own but couldn't get out of their 22 despite desperate efforts to shift the ball wide. The referee blew time much to the relief of the highly vocal crowd with a final scoreline of 17-12.

This was probably Heath's most complete performance of the season and to pull it out of the bag against a more experienced Hove side was a great effort with an immense shift from the forwards being matched by some huge tackling from the backs. The win sees Heath through to the Bob Rogers Sussex County Cup Final against neighbours Horsham 2s to be played at Crawley RFC on finals day Saturday 7 May with a 4pm kick off.

Heath Squad: Martin McDonagh; Harry Edwards; Euan Greaves-Smith; Fraser Russell; Dan Shotton; Wilf Bridges (capt); Lewis Goodhall; Bobby Collins; Jamie Thurston; Tom Wharton; Mitch Day; Jamie Diggle; Jack Flower; Roscoe Atkins; Samuela Bulitkavale-Lancaster; Jack Bull; Jack Herbert; Rob Ellis; Ellis Dubois; Henry Dickson; Evan Herbert; Dougie Kern