The game remained scoreless for 14 minutes with little hint of the fireworks to come until Bromley kicked a penalty and then scored a try after Dan Crook made a strong run but got isolated, and possession was turned over with Bromley clinical in their use of the ball.

Horsham’s scrum was dominant throughout and on 23 minutes skipper Matt Brown having already turned down a kick at goal boldly directed fly half Will Bell to kick for the corner and from this position Jonny Ordidge picked up from the back of another strong Horsham scrum to crash over the line.

Brown then declined another easy three points and opted for a scrum in front of the posts and the Green and White pack delivered by driving Bromley back a couple of yards before Brown made a break and released Rob Grantham-Hill to cross the line following an arcing run to lead 12-10 at half-time.

Shortly after the restart Horsham were further disrupted by an injury to Bell, which saw Iain Fisher come off the bench, Ordidge move into the backs and Price to fly half where he is most comfortable.

But within two minutes Bromley had regained the lead after Emmet O’Rahilly, another young player making his first team debut, was turned over in the middle of the field.

Horsham then put together their first attack of note through the backs as Price fizzed out a long pass and Jamie Gibbs raced 40 yards up the right wing evading several tackles until he was stopped just short of the line.

With Lee Taylor down injured, Bromley attacked his channel to score and then increased their lead to 23-12 with a further try on 65 minutes to seemingly put the game beyond Horsham’s reach but then the fight back began.

Price fired out a long pass to man of the match O’Rahilly to run in to the left hand corner from 25 yards and then the award of a penalty try saw Horsham take the lead in the final minute of normal time after a high pressure kick by Price from in front of the posts.

Due to the amount of stoppages there was still time for Bromley to mount another attack, and O’Rahilly stopped a certain try with a strong front on tackle but Bromley thought they had won the game when they crossed the line from a rolling maul to lead 30-24 well into injury time.

But there was time for one last Horsham attack as Price directed a long kick to the corner and from the ensuing line-out, quick ball was generated for Taylor to cross the line after a well executed backs move, and with the conversion required to win Price held his nerve.

Horsham coach Nick Stocker said “I am most pleased with the way we stuck at it and the character we showed. It was down to our own errors that they had a commanding lead and we were two scores down with 15 minutes to go. The game was almost beyond our reach and it was a real rollercoaster of emotions.

There were so many changes to positions and combinations and it was only in the car park before the game that the back-line had its first run through. It is clear that we were disjointed and even the referee said that we were incredibly imprecise with players getting isolated. Our running patterns were slightly off and we were lacking in a little cohesion.”

Horsham’s next game is in the league away to Beckenham based Old Dunstonians on Saturday October 26.

Horsham: Day, Grantham-Hill, Barber; Grover, Goward; Carvell, Crook, Ordidge; Brown (capt), Bell (Fisher 43); Gibbs, Price, Taylor, O’Rahilly; Goodsir