Fresh faces at Hellingly make big impact in 28-26 win over Seaford

 

The first game of the season was always going to be a complete unknown to the rugby players at Hellingly Rugby Club, particularly after 18 months away from competitive fixtures. The introduction of a new coach, Tom Shuttleworth, in July had not given much time to regather players, rebuild fitness and develop an exciting game plan for this pre-season warm-up match. However, a more exciting game could not have been wished for as a mixed Hellingly team took on a very robust looking Seaford squad.

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Looking at some very solid Seaford forwards it was apparent from the start the Hellingly scrum was going to have to put in a tough shift. It was not just a hard day, it was a hot day for a return to a game situation. In the first quarter Hellingly matched every Seaford break with an excellent defensive tackle.

 

Harvey Warren, danced his way through the Seaford defence to score from almost the first real opportunity. Seaford responded through their forwards bringing the trys level. The arm-wrestle continued for the entire game .Seaford's 3 tries were met by Hellingly scores from Mark Harris and 2 from the Captain Ian Padget.

 

At the final whistle the result came down to conversions and the steady boot of Vice-Captain Aaron Hossack, getting 4 conversions from 4 to win the game 28-26.

 

Although the old rugby adage is true, a good bigun will beat a good smallun, what it doesn't go on to say is that a good fastun will beat them both. Despite the power in the Seaford line-up, the Hellingly piano movers gave a very solid performance, allowing the Hellingly piano players to secure a very well deserved victory. 

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Next week Hellingly travels to Uckfield for its second pre-season warm-up game.