Getting Shirty

Playing for the 3rd XV is always a lottery, with so many variables effecting not only the team you get out but also who you are going to be playing against especially when looking at the fixtures you notice one their more senior teams don’t have a fixture as was the case with Pulborough at the weekend. With no 1st team game it’s always a wonder where those players are going to end up and its fair dues to Pulborough for turning up at Horsham with a bonefide 3rd team.

Lady luck was also smiling on Pulborough as unbeknown to them Horsham were having some difficulty in locating shirts. I’m not sure if league rules allow a team to play in skins and I know the Horsham Barbarians are full of Sussex beefcakes but I think the overall look wouldn’t have been pretty. Fortunately someone decided to actually move some things in an effort to find them and the panic was over.
The match started in good fashion for the BB’s exerting some great pressure in the scrums and the ¾’s however due I think to some rustiness from both teams it was for the whole a fairly scrappy affair with neither side building any notable string of phases. The wind wasn’t helping much either with the lineouts struggling to win any clean ball. Horsham soon decided to skip these when possible opting for scrums and taps from penalties in an effort to build some momentum. The first try came from some good defensive pressure from the Horsham backs. A high pass just went over the wingers hands and Rob Grant was sharply on the ball and went over with a bit of work to do. A great moment followed as the restart went straight to Lee McGuire who coolly collected the catch for his first touch of a rugby ball in a match for 20 years.

Horsham were quickly back on the offensive and some strong running by the forwards saw the ball released to the backs. With some straight running holding the remaining defenders Chris Mallows finally got the chance to repay all the passes I’ve given to him allowing me a simple dot down near the corner, cheers Chris ;)

The Barbarians added a further two scores before half time through Ben Birch and Sharkey giving a good lead going into the break.
Unfortunately following a praising team talk the usual happened and Horsham started playing on the back foot. With Pulborough asserting themselves in the game Horsham also started to fall foul of the referee’s whistle particularly coming from the side. A slightly lackadaisical response to these penalties allowed Pulborough to make good inroads into the Horsham half. Some good defence near the line looked like it would keep the scoreline clean but Pulborough were building in confidence and were determined to not come away empty handed finally crossing the line via the forwards. Any thoughts this was a blip were soon dispelled as they once more came on the attack. Three almost consecutive high tackles saw the referee looking for his yellow card with the unfortunate Tom "Mad Max" Mathias the recipient. Pulborough made this advantage pay with their second score. This seemed to stir Horsham from their stupor and they managed to start asserting some pressure near the Borough line, I managed to get close to the Pulborough 10 from a line out and collected the charge down for a second try. With a full complement back on the pitch, Joey Emson put the cherry on the cake and ended the competition with a try from inside centre.

All in all a nice return to the game following the summer, Horsham were perhaps a little disrupted by the constant changes from the rolling subs but the end result of getting all the guys a little game time was perhaps the most important thing. Lots of good stuff, particularly the scrummaging and driving play from the forwards including a good senior debut by Danny Macklin and great foraging work by Sam Jenkins and Dan Riley in the back row. The ¾’s made ground all day and probably more importantly kept a dangerous looking Pulborough backline subdued with their defence. Ben Carbone was unlucky not to score to cap an impressive game alongside the rest of the back three of Ben Birch and Rob Grant.

Thanks to Pulborough for travelling to us and apologies for the cramped changing conditions. We had to accommodate our delightful other visitors from Hove who are having problems with bad elements in their pitches and play at ours instead. We are working towards a new changing facility which should allow us to welcome you a little better in the future.

With a big weekend of World Cup rugby in Sussex coming up we’re next in action in a fortnight. Get togethers will continue on Thursdays so don’t be strangers and come along and show your faces.

Rob