3rd XV - Barbarians
Matches
Sat 30 Sep 2017  ·  Harvey's of Sussex 3 'Forwards Choice'
Horsham Rugby Club
3rd XV - Barbarians
15:00
Bognor 2
Barbarians v Bognor 2's 30/9/17

Barbarians v Bognor 2's 30/9/17

Alan Jones5 Oct 2017 - 08:24
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Match Report by Red Barbarians v Bognor 2's 30/9/17

Saturday saw the Baa-Baas first home game of the season and it was good to arrive at Coolhurst to
find that some fine last minute rallying had drummed up a full squad. Made up of Baa-Baas regulars,
a few familiar faces returning to represent Horsham, and some debutants the team was, as ever, a
bit light in the back line, but a game could be played.
Due to the re-shuffle of the leagues in Sussex, the 3s will inevitably find themselves facing stiffer
opposition this season, and this was definitely the case with a strong Bognor 2s side made up of an
experienced pack backed with youth and pace in the backs.
The game started badly for the Baa-Baas with Bognor dominating the early exchanges. The crowd
even experienced the rare sight of a Baa-Baa scrum going backwards a couple of times. After about
10 minutes and a couple of scores, Horsham steadied the ship and began to first disrupt Bognor’s
progress and then start to plat themselves. Big John Hamblin provided some important forward ball
an unfamiliar position in the centres, and Tam at 8 doing likewise. Tony, Popeye and Ewen in the
front row got the measure of their opponents and stabilised the scrum. The lineout started to
function, despite the pedantry of the referee calling scrums against both sides for the slightest
deviation from straight. Horsham’s pack really then hit their stride both with ball in hand and
frustrating the Bognor forwards. Andries in particular was all over the park and first to the
breakdown with Yorkie close behind. Tyrone Matthews making his first start for many a year
provided a steadying influence at 10 and the introduction of Tom Hooley added some real attacking
threat in the centre. Sam Lunn and Tom Litchfield were counter-attacking with paceHalf time came
and it was Horsham’s turn to play up the hill, but this didn’t dampen the attacking intent. For a large
part of the second half, the Baa-Baas were camped in the Bognor half. Harry Middleton came on for
his first game in six years and immediately added some pace to the Pack. Kev Whitlock, promoted
from the 1s to the Baa-Baas, brought another attacking option and Horsham pressed for a score.
Numerous penalties accompanied by numerous ‘final’ warnings against Bognor may have resulted in
a man advantage, but it was not to be. Horsham were finally rewarded with a try, but it turned out
to only be a consolation. With the Horsham running out of steam, Bognor added a late flurry of
scores to finish on top, as they had started.
Horsham Barbarians 5 – 55 Bognor II
All in all, it was a good performance again, if not a good result, and our thanks to Bognor for a game
played in the right spirit. If we can keep the numbers at this level, and the effort the same, then we
will see some wins for certain. Also a big thanks to those that came to support, it makes a big
difference to all the players to know you are on the side-line cheering us on.
Baa-Baas training is Thursdays at 7.30pm. Come and find as at the club, the more we can get there
the better.

Match details

Match date

Sat 30 Sep 2017

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

Harvey's of Sussex 3 'Forwards Choice'

League position

1
Bognor 2
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Club Sponsor - Thakeham
Club Sponsor - Benchmark Capital
Shirt Sponsor - DK Services
Team Sponsor - Sussex Fishing
Shirt Sponsor - Hazelhurst Roofing