Royals RFC 20
Tries: Stanton, Burke, Tomas, Cameron
Burgess Hill 10
Tries: Dronfield
Conv: Rawbin
Pen: Rawbin
Oliver Kidman reports…
CHEERS rang around CoinShares Park after Royals RFC’s hard-fought monumental win, beating Burgess Hill to secure top spot of the Harvey’s Brewery Counties 3 Sussex table.
“It’s really exciting for us, this is a big win for the club,” said Royals manager, Ollie de la Cloche. “Looking at the fixtures, we knew it was essential to win the last five games for the title.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. We’ve now won four on the bounce, the team has been brilliant recently.
“This one means the most, to get the win in front of such a large home crowd.”
Despite such a lop-sided 34-7 result going against them in their prior meeting, the hosts were raring to go, brimming with confidence.
The boys in blue got off to a dream start, unfazed by Burgess Hill’s constant pressure, to score a try early on, with Jake Stanton diving in near the touchline to commence the scoring.
“We are a very dominant team,” said captain Joao Tomas. “The squad want to get on the front foot early, putting the pressure on our opponents.
“Doing that allows the team to play freely, and that’s what we did today.”
Momentum only kept building for the hosts, dominating every aspect of the game. The Sussex All-Blacks kept on giving it their all, retaliating with intent as they held the Islanders in dangerous territory.
After an exchange near the hosts’ 22-metre line saw a high tackle, the boys in black were awarded a penalty kick, as Anthony Rawbin put it away to get their first points of the day.
However, the Blues showed no weakness, with some fantastic link-up play orchestrated by Brian Njomba and Cam Halliwell to pull the side out of trouble, with Stanton earning the opening try.
It wasn’t long before the local club extended their lead, with George Burke pacing his way around Burgess Hill’s backline to make it 10-3.
To say the crowd were satisfied is an understatement, as the Royals forced several errors through constant pressure.
In spite of some excellent tackling to stifle their advances, the Sussex-based side found their way through, with Ben Dronfield punching through the goal line to reduce the deficit.
A succession conversion from Rawbin saw the Royals’ lead diminished, equalising the score 10-10. With their rivals level, the Jersey team refused to cave in, continuing to advance up the field.
A glimpse of promise was culminated from Henry Frost’s brilliant carry, weaving through near closer to the goal line.
However, pain was felt across the ground, as the ball bobbled out after an ill-advised pass attempt.
In spite of the missed opportunity, the Blues maintained possession, with Tomas blasting through to re-establish the lead. Conversions proved an issue for Royals, not able to force any through the posts. The whistle blew for half-time, seeing the hosts lead 15-10.
Restarting play after the break, the Sussex side were rejuvenated, picking up the intensity to bring the fight.
What ensued was an absolute battle for the majority of the second-half, with everyone leaving it all on the field. Though the contest was intense, a try eluded both teams, neither able to break through the line.
Defence was key to the Royals’ victory, digging deep and making big tackles to keep a clean sheet in the second half.
“Our defence was amazing,” continued the de la Cloche. “We really tackled hard, and our line was unbreakable at times.
“This is especially impressive given the youth of our squad, playing against these grizzled titans is a real test. But the lads weren’t daunted and put in a shift.”
In the midst of battle, the boys in blue found themselves at a disadvantage late in the game, down two players after a pair of yellow cards.
Concerns quickly evaporated as the Royals’ Nat Cameron broke through in style, sliding across to put the game out of Burgess Hill’s reach.
In spite of valiant efforts, the visitors couldn’t notch any points on the board, with the Royals coming out 20-10 victors.
The manager was incredibly pleased with the result, saying: “The team has come a long way since last year’s dismal season. Everyone’s gelled so well this year, all the lads are fighting for each other, and that’s what you saw today.
“Especially in that second half, the lads displayed their resilience against very physical opposition. The team couldn’t be more grateful for the crowd today, the supporters were a massive boost.”
The skipper added: “This year, we’ve all been hugely passionate and dedicated to the badge, which drives us in these tough games.
“All the boys are willing to put themselves on the line for each other, as it’s war out there.
“We didn’t make it easy on ourselves, only having 13 on the field at one point, but we all picked each other up and progressed.”
Despite sitting at the head of the table, Royals RFC are anything but content, looking ahead to their match-up with Barns Green to conclude the season.
“We can’t afford to get ahead of ourselves,” said Tomas. “We must keep up the positivity, with only one game to go. To be league champions, it’s essential to keep pushing.”
De la Cloche was very much of the same mindset, adding: “We need to build off this performance.
“There were a few mistakes that need reviewing, and training this week will very much be to fix those. Barns Green will be tough, so we need to keep momentum and give it our all.”
After a stellar campaign, Royals RFC will look to seal a much-deserved league title, hosting Barns Green on Saturday.
Royals RFC [1-15]: Sam Dillon, Tristan Burns, Joao Tomas (c), Josh Twohig-Jones, Lewis Ham-Howes, JJ Le Feuvre, Brian Njomba, Cam Halliwell, Nat Cameron, Henry Frost, George Burke, Hugo Reid, Will Hodgson, Ben Pearson, Jake Stanton.
Replacements: Harvey Evans, Jack Lowe, Conor Bisson-Mercury, Brodie Sutton, Fraser George, Aidan Dobney, Pearse Moloney (vc)
Burgess Hill [1-15]: D Cheesmur, B Upton, B Tuvey, T Daniel, M Grimes, A Rezezadeh (c), C Coles, B Dronfield (vc), T Lewis, A Rawbin, L Bedford, D Stringer, T Teichmann, T Maple, D Jennings.
Replacements: I Campbell, J Stringer, K Tucker, D Wattam, J Schofield, P Greenhalgh, J Maple
