G's v Hellingly

December is here and so is the cold weather! A very chilly morning and a heavy fog, covering the pitches, welcomed the boys and a huge number of supporters upon arrival on Saturday. For the first time in a few seasons East Grinstead welcomed Hellingly 1st XV to the club this weekend to face our undefeated 2nd XV. Hellingly are a familiar foe who have always been a solid outfit and would no doubt bring a physical side down to disrupt East Grinstead’s undefeated run.

Due to Hellingly having low availability this week East Grinstead were allowed an extended bench to ensure both teams had 15 players and a competitive game could go ahead. Hellingly were incredibly appreciative of this and nominated East Grinstead 2nd XV with the Make It Happen Award with Hellingly commenting “I cannot thank East Grinstead enough for their sportsmanship today”.

A familiar face in Rob Ward blew the whistle to start the game and East Grinstead put Hellingly under pressure from the outset with a big hit leading to a knock on and the first scrum of the day within seconds of the start of the half. East Grinstead scored their first try of the day after big carries from the forwards led to the ball being whipped out to Scott Devlin on the wing who scored in the corner 9 minutes into the game. After the first try had been scored similar trys were scored by Tom Marr and then Chris Taylor before George Naylor scored a fantastic first try in a men’s shirt. Stanley Kennett scored the final try of the half 30 minutes into the game which left the score 27-0 at half time.

The second half was a frustrating ordeal for East Grinstead. Other than a fantastic try once again from James Funnell, the second half did not run as smoothly as it had in the earlier periods of the game. For the first time this season a lack of discipline set in, which led to a number of penalties conceded. If not for the willingness of the team to not concede points this season, Hellingly could have certainly put points on East Grinstead this weekend. That being said keeping Hellingly out with some courageous try line defending from a penalty, as well as a scrum 5m out in the dying embers of the game, showed the determination of this squad. The game finished 34-0, a fantastic result against a solid outfit which leaves the 2nd XV 3 points clear of all teams across both leagues with a game in hand this weekend against Heathfield & Waldron 2nd XV.

In the second half, the match was moved to our third pitch after Rob Salvi went down with what looked like a fairly serious injury to his head/neck. After several hours Rob was attended to by the Ambulance Service and I am glad to say that he was cleared later that night with no serious injuries. Molly Adams, the clubs lead physio, stayed with Rob for several hours until the ambulance turned up. After the final whistle around 20 of the 1st and 2nd team players all went down to check on Rob, bring him extra blankets and support which was a lovely gesture, and I am sure Rob was very thankful to you all.

Next weekend is the final league game of the year for the 2nd XV as we will be welcoming Heathfield & Waldron 2nd XV to HQ and as always support is always welcome.