5-try blitz secures revenge against Uckfield

A devastating 15 minute spell in the first half secured Horsham a bonus point victory over Sussex rivals Uckfield in a game which was a one sided affair. Despite a fairly even first 10 minutes, Horsham had raced into a 38-0 lead after 43 minutes and in doing so demonstrated the vice like control they had over their opponents, a position from which Uckfield with all their efforts in the second half never looked like overcoming. Indeed even the most myopic of supporters will seek solace in the fact that Uckfield outscored Horsham 2 tries to 1 in the second half, but in reality, Horsham relaxed a little too much conceding 2 tries in the process. Part of Horsham's development as a squad is to put in a full 80 minute performance which to date has proved elusive.

In the first fixture away to Uckfield, Horsham had dominated territory and possession and through missed opportunities had fallen to a 3 point loss. This initial exchanges at Coolhurst looked as though a similar patter would pan out with Horsham proving adept at the contact area and Uckfield's set piece and particularly the scrum showing its power. Horsham's front row of Holden, Grantham Hill and Barber having initially conceded penalties, worked through the problems and began to exert an influence on the game and so nullifying one of Uckfield's main attacking strengths.

Having tested each other for the first 10 minutes, Horsham started to generate the quick ball that attacking teams covet and in doing so initiated the spell that was to secure the game. Increasing numbers of phases were strung together stretching the Uckfield defence and opening up opportunities. On 15 minutes, an Uckfield line out was stolen and driven forward. The quick ball generated was released to the backs and Sam Bell at 13 picked a sublime line off Angelo Shepherd's pass to leave his opposite number totally wrong-footed to bear down on the 15 and beat him for pace and score under the posts. The try was converted by Matt Brown 7-0

On 18 minutes, following a strong scrum, Matt Brown sniped with support from number 8 Jo Clarke. The ensuing ruck was won quickly and the ball spun to the backs. Prop Neal Holden, turning back the clock to his former centre days picked a great inside line of Shepherd to carry strongly into the Uckfield 22m. The last ditch tackle finally dragged Holden to the ground but his pop out of contact found a supporting Jo Clarke who dived over under the posts for another easy conversion by Matt Brown. 14-0

On 24 minutes following an increasingly disrupted scrum, Uckfield conceded a penalty on their 10 meter line and Matt Brown stepped up to convert the kick. 17-0

After 27 Minutes, Horsham had worked their way up field to secure a lineout 5m from the Uckfield try line. The planned catch and drive was not executed as expected but in what was a particularly pleasing aspect of this try, the Horsham decision makers did not panic and merely started again, turning the slow ball into quick. Eventually the ball was spun to Sam Bell who carried well into the Uckfield defence and from the resultant quick ball, Matt Brown sniped from the ruck and scored to the left of the posts for a try he also converted. 24-0

From the kick off Horsham scored what is Horsham's try of the season to date. Ryan Grover putting in an excellent performance in the second row caught the kick-off and drove into the Uckfield pack setting up a ruck. The forwards secured quick ball which was spun to Angelo Shepard at 10 who had number 8 Jo Clarke on his shoulder. Jo Clarke crashed into contact and offloaded to Sam Bell who had matched his run and so the line break had been created. Carrying the ball into the opposition's half, having assessed his options, he promptly spun a pass fully 30m at full tilt into the hands of winger Liam Yeates who did not even break stride. With the opposition defence now pulled dangerously out of position Liam drew the defender and passed inside to a supporting Johnny Ordidge who in turn did likewise to a supporting Angelo Shepherd who sprinted in from about 10m to score under the posts for a converted try. 29 minutes gone the score stood at 31-0

Into the second half and Horsham continued where they had left off - playing in Uckfield's half and pressurising at contact, set piece and in the width of their play. On 43 minutes with a penalty awarded against Uckfield for an infringement at a driven lineout, Matt Brown took a quick tap penalty and dummied the retreating forward to score. He subsequently converted his try - 38-0

With the game lost, Uckfield then proceeded to play a more expansive game deciding instead to avoid the counter attacking prowess of Horsham's back three and the ambition brought dividends through a try on 53 minutes. Quick hands aligned with some good skill were similarly met with some uncharacteristic tackling from Horsham. 38-5

On 61 minutes, through several infringements, Uckfield made their way up the touchline and eventually got a lineout in driving zone. The big forwards fashioned a good drive which committed the defence and breached the Horsham try line for the second time for a converted try. 38-12

In the last 20 minutes, Horsham regained the initiative and although did not score, there were several opportunities that went begging - most notably Tom Wright's fine run down the left wing only to be tackled by the Uckfield second row in the act of scoring. Crucially, Uckfield were well contained and did not threaten the Horsham lien again.

Overall, a pleasing performance that showed the value of the hard work that the squad has been putting in. The clinical nature of the first half would cause any team in the league difficulties. The key for this developing team is to sustain this first half level of performance initially over a whole game, and thereafter over the course of multiple games