Doughty Terror Alert
Burgess Hill U16’s travelled to Hastings for their last league game of the season on Sunday and secured a scrappy 7 – 17 win scoring 3 tries to 1.
Whether it was long journey or expectations of winning Hill did not turn up for the first 20 minutes and it was Hastings who took the game to them in every aspect of play.
The first score of the game was Hastings as the ball was spun wide from a scrum their strong and quick outside centre brushed aside a couple of weak tackles from Hill before scoring out to the right of the posts. Their fly half stepped up and added the extras 7 – 0.
This score was Hill’s wake up and they stepped up their game making good ground with ball in hand through No 8, Ashton Stenning, blindside flanker Jack Greenwood and prop Danny Kovac. On 3 occasions Hill got close to the Hastings line however resolute defending kept them out.
It wasn’t long before they got their just rewards. Following a scrum 5 metres out the ball was spun wide where outside centre Jake Anninson cut back inside running the exact line where the ball had come from to crash over the line for the unconverted score 7-5.
Hastings came back at Hill in the first 10 of the second half using their combatative pack and large rangy running full back. However despite this Hill kept them at bay.
The last 25 minutes were all Hill as their pack started to dominate the set piece winning opposition lineout through openside flanker Ben Farrer and Greenwood and scrum ball via Kovac and his front row colleagues Stuart Henderson and Dan Hutchinson.
One such drive up field by the Hill pack saw the ball spun to the left where fly half and Captain Dan Butcher missed passed to Anninson who passed to left winger Aaron Doughty who cut off his wing side stepping 2 defenders before racing 30 metres to score under the posts. Full back Luke Stubbings stepped up to add the extras.
Hill were now in control as the pack strangled the life out of the opposition pack. Once the backs had the ball they looked to use Doughty as much as possible as his pace and step were making life very difficult for Hastings.
The next try came from another sweeping backs move where following a scrum in the midfield Butcher passed to inside centre Will Lazenby who dummied Anninson before passing to Stubbings who raced in to score an unconverted try in the right hand corner.
Despite the win it was not the greatest performance and Hill will have to show more respect in the future and prepare better after a long journey.
MOM went to Aaron Doughty who terrorised his winger throughout the second half.
Hill now have a couple of weeks off before playing in a tournament at Bognor on the 17th April.