Horsham get stuck in the mud

Horsham remain consistent with their inconsistency. Last week in the fourth round of the Intermediate Cup the Green and Whites raised their game and pushed Tunbridge Wells all the way and felt that they were unfortunate to lose. The Kent side are unbeaten all season and on course for a league and cup double.

In a game Horsham would have expected to win the contrast against Crowborough was marked. The pitch conditions were poor and heavy under foot and Horsham’s fleet footed runners got stuck in the mud in a sluggish display.

Crowborough are fighting against relegation and their young side showed remarkable spirit in a dogged defensive performance when the Green and Whites were on top for the first twenty minutes to prevent Horsham scoring.

Will Bell missed a penalty attempt at goal but on 20 minutes he joined the line from full back and added the injection of pace to put Mike Watts over in the corner for an unconverted try.

It was not until the second quarter that Crowborough entered the Horsham half but they started to gain in confidence as the game went on. Chris Yates missed a penalty kick at goal and when Watts was yellow carded following cumulative penalty offences committed by Horsham the home side took full advantage of the extra man. The Green and White defence rushed up quickly and Phil Price won the race to the touchdown after a delightful chip by Guy Greenwood to score a converted try on the stroke of half time and Crowborough lead 7-5.

Crowborough continued to attack at the start of the second half with their numerical advantage and nearly scored following a grubber kick by Price before being stopped just short of the line. Yates then extended their lead to 10-5 with a penalty.

No sooner had Horsham returned to their full complement before James Johnson was yellow carded for backchat to the referee. Horsham however made light of this when Arun Thompson made a powerful break to create the position for Jonny Whiting to score. The difficult conversion attempt was missed and the scores were levelled at 10-10.

The game was becoming increasingly fractious and the referee did not see the altercation initiated by one of the Crowborough centres when Horsham were attacking which developed into a fracas involving several players from both sides. The referee took action by yellow carding Josh Mills from Horsham and Liam Derrick from Crowborough.

When Horsham were caught offside in the backs Yates for Crowborough slotted the decisive penalty to take a 13-10 lead with ten minutes remaining. Yates missed a further kick at goal to extend their lead but there was still the chance for Horsham to level the scores in the final minute when they were awarded penalty but they opted to take the scrum and go for the win but the attack petered out in the face of a resolute defence and Crowborough held on for a famous win.

Horsham head coach Nick Stocker was left frustrated with the performance. He said: “We were well below par. It was as if it was a training game under lights on a Thursday evening. We were going through the motions rather than ramming home our pressure into points. We did not play with enough real intensity and did not commit sufficient numbers at the breakdown to clear them out.
Perversely our handling and lines of running were good. We just did not show enough aggression and bite at the contact area.
We were dominant in the key areas but did not show real intensity where it mattered. It looked like a training game whereas for Crowborough it was full blooded need to stay up rugby.”

Pulborough have conceded the quarter-final of the Bob Rogers Quarter Final due on 12 March, so Horsham’s next fixture away to Deal & Betteshanger who presently lie third in the table on 19 March.

Horsham: W Bell; Watts, J Johnson, Ordidge, Wilson, T Johnson, Mills (Walker); Talbot (capt), Stone, Barber (Fairs); Harcus, Whiting; Tredgett (Clarkson), Thompson, Gray