Horsham 10  Hove 5

It might not have been the bonus point win we all wanted but gaining our first-ever victory over Hove was sweet enough.

Especially as they had beaten us twice last season and earlier this season in friendlies.
However this was the one that mattered, a League match, with Hove!

Hove showed from the start that they meant business, piling on the pressure down the hill, and only some of the best 15-man defending we have displayed all season kept the visitors at bay.

The fact we did not get out of our half for the opening 15 minutes showed just how hard Hove hit us and they took a deserved lead with a try in the corner - although it looked like the ball had been dropped before being fallen on.

The rest of the half belonged to us though.

Great running from deep from full-back Kyle Fuller sparked initial raids before we camped on the Hove five metre line leading up to the break.

We should have scored. Chris Wesson and Jerry Downey combined down the right wing only to be stopped short; Michael Turner should have trusted his own power and pace down the same channel instead of offloading; Michael was felled a yard short of the line seconds later; Kyle powered through two tackles only to get held up inches from the posts; and Ryan Lawford's charge down virtually under the posts could have bounced anywhere but it spiralled away from Ryan with the line gaping.

It looked like we would go in trailing at the break - but then the pressure told.

Kyle's sparkling angled run opened up a gap that Chris filled with a surge and try making it 5-5 at the whistle.

Kyle's superb handling from a series of steepling kicks also deserves a mention - it was faultless throughout.


Down the hill we have proved very strong this season as both Chichester and Heathfield can testify - but Hove came out even more fired up.

They regained control early on and only smart work as well as great tackling saved the day.

Aled Price when not tackling was spoiling superbly while Ryan was also doing his flanker's bit, getting to the ball first or intercepting.

Meanwhile, Michael, Chris, Dan Cass and Simon Ashman were everywhere, flooring opponents.

We gradually got down the hill and forced a couple of penalties.

The second was in front of the posts but instead of slotting a three-pointer, Aled, Ryan and Cameron Allan combined to set up Simon for a try in the corner.

It was a pivotal moment. We were now ahead and had something to hang on to.

Then Simon suffered a bad injury. The match was stopped for 15 minutes while the air ambulance came for him and we had to move pitches for the final ten minutes.

It helped calm things down but given Hove had a lineout ten metres from our line meant we had little room for error.

Hove did get over the line on the third phase but three bodies under the player stopped him touching the ball down.

Still Hove came - they won three penalties in quick succession, (again confusing all on-lookers) - but the tackling from every green shirt was quite awesome.

Skipper Charlie Piper and Liam Brady proved a solid first line of defence with no let up in intensity or effort with the introduction of Kyle Fairs.

And when we finally got a penalty in our favour five metres from our line and a Hove player threw the ball down in a fury and we gained an extra ten metres, we managed to relieve the pressure.

Aled cleared to halfway, and we spent the rest of the match in the Hove 22, twice coming within a yard of a killer third try.

But with only minutes to go a rush of blood saw a red card.  Once again tempers were flaring between the teams and when a Horsham player come racing in from the wing and pushed one of the Hove players, the referee showed a straight red!

And so Horsham found themselves a man short for the last play of the match - fortunately Hove could not take advantage and we held on for a win even the visitors said we deserved.

Special mention to second row pairing Robin Holt and Ben Higgs who not only never stopped getting stuck in but gained very hard yards in a fairly brutal arena - and even when they didn't win clean lineout ball, made sure Hove had to fight to make the most of it.

So a hard-fought encounter ended with a fourth League win in five matches for Horsham and the county final a possibility in our first season in the A league.

Both teams certainly showed in what was a full-blooded, fully-committed game with high stakes for both sides how good a team they both are.


Horsham: Liam Brady, Sam Boylett (Kyle Fairs), Charlie Piper; Robin Holt, Ben Higgs; Dan Cass, Simon Ashman (Henry Seear); Michael Turner; Cameron Allan, Aled Price, Aaronn Boczek, Ryan Lawford, Chris Wesson, Jerry Downey (Blaise Salle), Kyle Fuller
Unused subs: Nic Mathers