East Grinstead made the trip to Hove Rugby Club last Saturday for a highly competitivematchthatsawbothteams battleitoutinatenseencounter.Inthe end,Hovemanagedtoclaimvictorywith an 18-11 scoreline, but East Grinstead canbeproudoftheircommitmentand executionthroughoutthegame.
Hoveopenedthescoringwithanearly penalty,makingit3-0,butEastGrinstead quicklyrespondedwithsomeexcellent rugby. Following their game plan of kicking to the corners and applying pressure up the field, they kept Hove pinnedback.Thestrategypaidoffwhen WillRobertsdotteddownforatry,giving EastGrinsteada5-3lead,followedbya penaltykickedbyNoahRoberts.
Just before halftime, East Grinstead's RhysSkinnerwasshownayellowcard.
During his time in the sin bin, Hove capitalizedonthenumericaladvantage, scoringatrytolevelthescoreat8-8as theteamswentintothebreak.
The second half continued with both sides looking to take control. East Grinstead stuck to their game plan, kickingtothecornersandworkinghard toapplypressureintherightareasofthe field.NoahRoberts,whotookallofEast Grinstead'spenaltykicks,wasaccurate with his attempts, and both teams exchangedpenaltiestobringthescoreto 11-11,settingupanexcitingbackendof thegame.
With just a minute remaining, East Grinstead found themselves defending on their try line. Despite their best efforts,Hovemanagedtobreakthrough andscoreatryaroundtheedge,sealing thegameat18-11.
Whiledisappointedwiththeresult,East Grinstead will take heart from their disciplinedperformanceandadherence to their game plan. Hove were clinical when it counted, but East Grinstead pushed them all the way. The losing bonus point hugely important as G’s leapfrogOldHaileyburiansinthetable. FinalScore:HoveRugbyClub18-11East Grinstead.
2ndXVMatchReportVSJerseyRoyals
The match began with the opposition takinganearlylead,scoringatryand converting it, followed by another convertedtrytoputJersey14-0ahead. Oursidestruggledtogainmomentumin theopeningminutes,butwesoonfound ourrhythm.
Inthe8thminuteG’sgotapenalty,just right of the uprights, which was just missedandbouncedbackoffthepost. After that we started applying real pressure. Despite some early setbacks, GeorgeJonesbrokethroughinthe18th minute,puttingusonthescoreboard. Asthegameprogressed,ourteamfought backwithdetermination.OrShaymadea crucialimpactatthe51stminutescoring fromadrivingmall,earninghimtheStar Playerawardforhisperformance.Paddy Shepherdfollowedupwithanotherkey momentat61minutesscoringalovely kickandchase.JamesGriffithscontinued the momentum at the 70-minute mark scoringagain.EvanGoslingthencapped offthecomebackwithadecisiveplayin the77thminute.
Despite the strong second-half performance, the early deficit proved difficulttooverturn.However,theteam showed great resilience and skill, demonstratingtheirabilitytocompeteat a high level. Or Shay’s outstanding performance earned him man of the match, highlighting his influence throughoutthematch.
