Crawley took a break from their League Promotion campaign on Saturday to entertain Burgess Hill in the County Shield Semi Final. Facing a new-look Burgess Hill, after their recent recruitment and acquisition of several Fijians, the game was fiercely competitive throughout and a battle of contrasting approaches.
The first few minutes saw the respective strategies in stark contrast. With a strong wind on their backs, Burgess Hill attacked and applied pressure deep in the Crawley 22 though close quarter ‘one out’ phases. Using their large forwards to challenge the Crawley defensive and gain territory inch by inch. The defence stood strong and forced the handling error, resulting in the first scrum of the match.
From the Scrum, the Home backline moved the ball to the right before Centre, Sam Musgrove’s good footwork and powerful fend saw off the Burgess Hill Tackler to feed fellow centre and captain for the day, Ali Moffatt who in turn passed to winger Andy Gardner who beat his opposite number and sprinted in for the opening try under the posts. 7 – 0 up with only two minutes on the clock.
The response form the visitors came 5 minutes later and came from a prolonged periods of short carries by their big forwards. 7 – 7 and the opposing styles of play were well matched and it was clear that controlling possession was going to be the defining factor for the outcome of this Cup match.
The remainder of the second half saw long periods of play in the Crawley Half, utilising the strong wind, Crawley were pinned back and made to work hard in defence against the large ball carriers and fight hard to work their way up the field. Just before the break the pressure paid off and again though a close drive from a lineout Burgess Hill crossed for their second try of the day. 7 – 12 down at Half time but the game was still well balanced and Crawley’s approach of moving the ball and utilising space more had threatened throughout the first half, with the wind now on their backs possession would be a little more balanced and the home side were confident going into the second half.
Early errors from Crawley allowed the Burgess Hill scrum to show its dominance and within 5 minutes Crawley had conceded their third try, with the visitors driving the scrum over form 5 meters.
In the 14th minute the home spectators were treated to a score that will feature prominently in this seasons’ highlights reel. Again it was young wing Andy Gardiner; one of many in the squad playing their first season for Senior Rugby that was the scorer. His second try of the game came courtesy of some fine handling, accuracy of passing and pace in the backline and again saw the Burgess Hill Defence struggling to match their speed of movement. 12 – 17 with 25 minutes remaining the place in the County Final was still anyone’s to take.
A Drop Goal in 29th Minute extended the visitors lead and despite a series of opportunities created through the Crawley backline, none of the chances were taken and these proved most costly when in the final minutes another close driving play saw Burgess Hill seal their place in the County Final with a 12 – 25 final score line.
Although disappointed the Crawley Club still have a huge amount to play for; the 1st Xv can secure the Sussex League Title next Saturday (25th ) at home against Uckfield, a win will guarantee the Title with two games still to play. Meanwhile the 3rd XV have secured their place in the Sussex Vase Final on 29th April at Uckfield against Hastings & Bexhill RFC.