Cobham travelled to Haywards Heath on Saturday (28 September) buoyed by their success the previous week that, while only lifting them to mid-table, made them the top point-scoring club in the league with 121 and three bonus try points in three matches.
With Tom Davison recovering from a broken hand, Ollie Fielding moved to Number 8 and Alex Blackwood came into the back row. There were also debuts for Elliot Riley, James White and Jamie Pearmund, while making his debut in the second row, approximately 40 years after his father Chris played his last game for Cobham, Alex Humber. Congratulations to all the debutants.
Played on a lush surface after the recent rain, but with the sun shining, both sides had something to prove. Haywards Heath have also had a tough start to the season, losing their first three games, although in all three they had rallied in the second half and this contest followed a very similar pattern.
From the kick-off, Haywards Heath's second row collected the ball and drove through the Cobham defence but suffered a shoulder injury that immediately required a substitution. Within minutes of the resumption and following a couple of penalties, Fielding won the lineout and provided scrum half Saunders with an opportunity to dart over for the opening score (0-5).
Heath fought back and ran the ball inside Cobham's half but could not break through. Slowly but surely, Cobham regained possession and took the game towards the Heath line. The second try also came from a lineout, with Luke Westgarth-Taylor touching down after another Fielding take (0-10).
O'Connor was creating space for the back line and he provided centre Burnett with an opportunity but he was held up. From a subsequent scrum, Heath gave away a free kick and Saunders took advantage to score his second try. Stephen slotted the conversion and after 26 minutes, the visitors were 17-points clear.
The penalty count against Heath continued to mount and O'Connor took every advantage with his running, releasing centre Palmer and winger Yorke. The next try came from the scrum, which had looked solid all afternoon. From five metres out, Fielding controlled the ball at the back of the scrum before picking up to score, which Stephen converted (0-24). Within minutes, it was groundhog day with Fielding repeating the pick up and try that gave the visitors a commanding 0-29 half-time lead.
Cobham had the benefit of playing down a slope in this first half but passes had also gone astray. The key challenge would be trying to maintain the pressure. In the initial opening minutes they suggested they could, as hooker Murphy collected a Health kick downfield and took the game back into their twenty-two. From the subsequent breakdowns, Saunders fed Stephen who took a great line to score under the posts. Heath then kicked away possession and Stephen provided winger Riley with a debut try in the corner (0-41).
Seven tries down, no one could have foreseen the fightback the home side then mounted to demonstrate their resilience. Taking advantage of an offside from Cobham, Heath's stand off took a quick penalty and fed Gareth Ferguson to score, which their fly half converted. With the Cobham kick-off not going the necessary 10 metres, the resultant scrum on halfway enabled their scrum half to release their centre Jack Lucas to touch down for a second converted try (14-41).
Having lost the momentum, it was important for Cobham to get the next score and within minutes of coming off the bench for his debut, White went over after another Fielding lineout was taken securely, with Stephen adding the extras (14-48). Heath responded immediately to add their third converted try (21-48) but in a far more balanced second half, Cobham hit back with a try from hooker Murphy that Stephen converted (21-55).
With the clock ticking down, there was still time for Heath to add a bonus point try and they looked to be on course for a fifth only for the final try to be scored by Riley, who would have enjoyed his debut. He ranin from the Cobham twenty-two, having picked up a wayward pass, before man-of-the-match Stephen slotted his sixth conversion for a final score of 26-62.
The win takes Cobham up to fourth place in the league table and they remain top points scorers with 183 and 4 try scoring bonus points. With a week’s break coming up, Cobham return to action at home versus Weybridge Vandals on Saturday 12 October.
Cobham 1st XV Squad:-
1. Chris Lippiatt
2. Andrew Murphy
3. Ben Joyce
4. Luke Westgarth-Taylor
5. Alex Humber*
6. Alex Blackwood
7. Louis Porter
8. Ollie Fielding
9. Ryan Saunders
10. Knox O’Connor
11. Joe Yorke
12. Taylor Burnett
13. Will Palmer
14. Elliott Riley*
15. Will Stephen
Substitutes:
16. Ryan Aujla
17. James White*
18. Jamie Pearmund*
Debut*
Scorers:
Tries: Saunders (2), Riley (2), Fielding (2), Westgarth-Taylor, Stephen, White, Murphy
Conversions: Stephen (6)
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