Winning streak at home continues for Heath

With Heath sitting in fifth at the start of the day and their Kent opponents occupying third place in the league a tight game was on the cards. The Club Christmas lunch had attracted nearly 100 people to the Clubhouse which ensured that despite the wintery blast a large crowd were on hand to cheer on the home side.

As anticipated the game was a proper scrap from the first whistle with Heath seeming to have the upper hand around the rucks and Charlton Park highly organised in the tight and at the set piece, looking to utilise their size to get a hold in the game.

The opening period saw the teams playing mainly around the halfway line cancelling each other out and, with the match still scoreless, it was a tense spectacle for the crowd.

On 23 minutes the deadlock was broken following a break from fly half Peter Kerins supported by flanker Josh Salisbury which took Heath deep into Charlton Park’s 22 where the ball was quickly recycled by the rampant Heath forwards and moved through the hands out wide right where prop Greg Palmer was on hand to score on his home debut for a 5-0 lead.

With Charlton Park having a man in the bin for a high tackle Heath looked to press home their advantage but a misfiring line out meant they were unable to take points from their possession in the opposition red zone.

In fact it was the visitors who were to score next following a string of scrum penalties against Heath in their own 22.

Whilst Heath’s defensive effort initially stood firm the pressure eventually told with the Charlton Park forwards getting over the try line in the left hand corner - the conversion missed wide and the score remained 5-5.

However, the tied scoreline lasted for less than a minute as straight from the kick off Heath gained possession and with incisive bursts from scrum half Brett Menefy and hooker Wilf Bridges breaking the Charlton Park defensive line, Robbie Fotheringham was wide left on the touchline to take the pass and outpace the covering defence to touchdown. Kerins defied the conditions and added the extras for a 12-5 lead at halftime.

Heath’s fitness in the second half meant they were able to withstand everything that the visitors threw at them and maintained their defensive discipline led by an outstanding Man of the Match performance from back row Max Drage.

Heath’s intensity around the fringes continued to thwart Charlton Park and force them into errors. A penalty allowed Kerins to stretch the lead to 15 -5 and give Heath the breathing space to control the game. With five minutes remaining a Heath scrum deep in the visitors’ half provided an attacking platform as the forwards sought to kill the game off and it was big Kiwi second row Gareth Fergusson who crashed over the white wash to score a try which Kerins again converted for 22-5.In the gathering gloom Heath tried to find some territory to take the bonus point score but the Charlton Park tackling held firm until the final whistle. Heath 1st XV Coach Matt Hawkes was pleased with the commitment of his team in seeing out the win and praised his entire squad, pointing out that with injuries and unavailability he had called on 38 players so far in the season which was a sign of good things to come.A great final home win of 2017 for Heath against tough opponents means that the sides swap positions in the London SE 2 league with Heath up to third place. Next weekend sees a Sussex derby with Heath travelling away to old foes Heathfield & Waldron.Heath 1st XV squad: Jack Bull, Wilf Bridges, Greg Palmer, Steve Doku, Gareth Fergusson, Max Drage, Josh Salisbury, Nick Main, Brett Menefy, Peter Kerins, Jamie Diggle, Robbie Fotheringham, Jack Lucas, Bobby Conroy-Smith, Henry Warwick. Subs: Chris Neill, Huw Jenkins, Sam Galbraith.