East Grinstead welcomed Eastbourne this weekend. A game that everyone had marked in their calendar and with a lunch attended by many ex players and the pitchside stand full, there was anticipation in the air. Eastbourne arrived in the good form but Gs had won their previous 2 games against their rivals and with each of the last 4 games between the 2 sides separated by under 5 points this game was always going to go down to the wire.

East Grinstead came out of the blocks fast and following some strong carrying from the forwards Guy Collins was able to go over from close range to capitalise from the first prolonged attack of the game. Oli Billin added the extras to give Gs a 7-0 lead. Handling errors from both sides caused the game to become fragmented and disjointed meaning East Grinstead couldn’t fully capitalise on their strong start. Eastbourne then started growing into the game but the Gs defence stood strong with chop tackles from the likes of the centurion Ben Tottman, Chris May Milller and Luke Maker. An excellent 50:22 from Noah Merrion momentarily relieved the pressure, however, Eastbourne were able to march forwards once again and a snipe from the scrum half resulted in a score. Eastbourne converted 7-7. East Grinstead regained momentum from the kick off and long kick from Oli Billin forced a goal line drop out. Noah Merrion collected the kick and linked up with his fellow backs before a break from Chris May Miller who released Ted Hardisty to round the Eastbourne defence and score. Oli Billin converted 14-7. Another defensive set led by Josh Brimecombe helped Gs see out the half ahead.

Gs started the second half well with Jake Radcliffe seeing more of the ball and becoming a prominent figure in the game. A clearance kick from Gs was chased hard by Sam Lindsay-McCall who downed the Eastbourne fullback allowing Chris May Miller to force a turnover giving East Grinstead a penalty and a chance to extend their lead. The kick went wide and the score remained 14-7. Eastbourne came back attacking with intent; a double hit from Ben Tottman and captain Ryland Thomas halted the momentum. Further defensive effort was ended when Eastbourne were awarded a penalty which was kicked. 14-10. Shortly after a series of events would go in Eastbourne’s favour and following a kick through a try was awarded in the corner 14-15. Despite an interception from Noah Merrion and Ryan Morlen’s best efforts East Grinstead were unable to respond and Eastbourne saw out the game.

A brutal result for East Grinstead given the performance. Noah Merrion was awarded man of the match following a composed first team debut.