Sutton & Epsom RFC An amateur community rugby club

Latest Match Report

Horsham Enjoy Winning Away Day Despite Lennie Hat Trick
Sutton & Epsom 29-36 Horsham
These two clubs passed like ships in the night at the end of the 2022-3 season. The good ship Horsham embarked on a luxury two-season cruise to exotic locations including Bracknell and Bournemouth following promotion as champions. Meanwhile, SS Sutton, having been holed below the water line, went into the dry docks of Regional 2 South East for urgent repairs. So this was the first league meeting between these two fine clubs. The visitors’ league position of sixth was not a fair reflection of their ability. The men from the Coolhurst Ground had two draws and a very narrow loss to Sidcup on their CV and with a fairer wind might have been in the top three by now. A hard fought affair was expected and the teams did not disappoint with the sides sharing ten tries equally with Horsham prevailing by 36-29.

The forecasters had indicated that this fixture would be played in bleak conditions. Fortunately, the rain, for the majority of the match, was incidental rather than torrential and the wind, though influential, was not the dominant factor. In the opening exchanges it was evident that yards gained would be hard to come by against swarming defences in a high tempo game with thumping tackles leaving their victims littering the field. The opening score after a dozen minutes was the result of a turnover on halfway as Horsham failed to gather the ball. Tom Lennard surged towards the opposite flank to find Archie Fitzgerald who made the telling break. Captain Bunting was in support to speed away to score in the corner from 30 metres. Though the touchline conversion narrowly failed the hosts had an encouraging 5-0 lead. 

By the end of the first quarter the Sussex men had taken the lead. Lovely footwork by scrum half Aaron Linfield took his team to the S&E half. Multiple phases later Horsham exploited space 15 metres out to open their account through prop Luke Standing demonstrating an impressive turn of speed. Within five minutes the visiting support was applauding their second goal of the afternoon. A Laurence Wise clearance was charged down. The Black & Whites were scrambling in retreat and prolific centre Tom Whittaker muscled his way over to score. Joe Blake drilled over his second conversion for a 14-5 lead.

For The Black & Whites positive plays were neutered by negative nuisances as stolen lineouts, turnovers and quality defence from the opposition hampered their efforts to get back on level terms. A frustrated Sutton side conceded a scrum in the opposition 22 but powerful scrummaging resulted in a penalty for the home team as the triumvirate of Johnson, Lennie and Mount appeared to have the upper hand in the front row arm wrestle. A tap penalty put Horsham on their heels and despite stubborn resistance hooker Sam Lennie powered his way over from minimal distance for his first score. The conversion was wayward and the hosts trailed 10-14. 

The restart was kicked deep to the Black & White 22 and despite a fine clearance from Laurence Wise it was not long before the green shirts were on the attack once more. Solid defence by Sutton forced a probing kick that resulted in a 5-metre defensive lineout. The ball was fumbled and Horsham had a scrum in a perfect location. Dogged defence was overcome when the hirsute prop Jack Osgood added more glory for the front row union with a try. The Blake boot added the extras for a 21-10 lead. The final ten minutes of the first period saw Sutton pressing hard to narrow the gap. A combination of errors from the home team and excellent defence from the away XV meant that there was no additional score despite S&E laying siege in the Horsham 22. Referee Marc Fusil concluded the first half and the sides turned around with the visitors 21-10 to the good. 

Sutton & Epsom needed the encouragement of an early score in the second half. Sadly for the Rugby Lane supporters the first significant moment came after five minutes when Kyren Ghumra was given a yellow card for a deliberate knock on. Trailing by eleven points and reduced to fourteen men it would be a challenging ten minutes for S&E. Horsham immediately exploited their numerical advantage. The penalty was kicked to the corner and the subsequent lineout resulted in the bonus point try for the Sussex men courtesy of replacement prop Josh Earle scoring to complete a hat trick of tries for the unsung heroes of the front row who had spread the spoils magnanimously. For the only time in the game Joe Blake erred with a kick at goal as Horsham stretched their lead to 26-10.

After a brief moment of looking ragged and desperate the Black & Whites rallied in fine style. The pack earned another scrummage penalty. Another lineout opportunity was provided and the catch and drive resulted in the second try of the afternoon for Sam Lennie. The kick from the flank failed to bisect the uprights but 14-man Sutton trailed by 15-26. As optimistic chatter about mounting a winning comeback filled the stand S&E’s aspirations received a painful blow. Tom Lennard’s attempt to clear from his 22 was charged down by his opposite number, Joe Blake, and the ball rolled towards the posts and the Horsham 10 gratefully touched down. He added the simplest of conversions and his side had a handsome 18-point advantage as they led 33-15.

Returned to numerical parity Sutton went in search of points. The first target was the fourth try and a bonus point. It was their turn to benefit from a charge down to establish an encouraging position in the 22. Soon it was in the hands of Sam Lennie who took the direct route from 10 metres out to score by the sticks. He celebrated his hat trick in Jason Robinson style punching the ball triumphantly skywards. Freddy Bunting enjoyed his first success from the tee and the Black & Whites had their bonus point with the scoreboard reading 22-33. With fifteen minutes of regular time left on the clock there was still hope in Sutton hearts.

The next score went to Horsham who very sensibly took the option to kick an easy penalty for a 36-22 lead meaning the hosts required at least three scores for a dramatic win. With the sands of normal time disappearing there was another twist. A splendid Sutton catch and drive from the forwards advanced ever onwards before being released. Swift handling enabled winger Ghumra to score in the corner and Bunting made light of the challenging conversion. Sutton trailed 29-36 with a second bonus point in limbo and the chance to level the scores entering time added on. If there were any members of the considerable Horsham travelling support of a pessimistic disposition the thought of a third draw of the campaign might have entered their thoughts. But cool heads reigned on a cold afternoon as the visitors saw out the remaining minutes to inflict upon Sutton their first Rugby Lane defeat of the season.

There was no question that Horsham deserved their success. Their formidable defence negated the Sutton back division and was miserly when deep in their 22. In scrum half Aaron Linfield they have a top notch scrum half. He was the Horsham heartbeat with swift accurate distribution, jinking footwork and intelligent kicking in a performance that set the tone for the afternoon. Arguably Horsham are the best side that S&E have encountered this season. Lock Jacob Denhart disrupted the Sutton service at the lineout with towering takes. Fly half Joe Blake varied the attack with the running and kicking game. They are an athletic, organised and skilful outfit who should end the season in the upper echelons of the table.

Sam Lennie joined Messrs Ghumra & Hegarty as hat trick heroes this season. Unfortunately, he joins those two, along with Ollie Baptiste-Wilson and Will East, as men with the unusual feat of scoring a league hat trick for S&E but still ending up on the losing side. Once again, the set scrum was impressive with the Black & White pack putting their opponents into reverse and winning penalties. Sadly, the S&E cause was not helped by the loss of scrum half Laurence Wise to a dislocated shoulder in the first period. The team showed immense character to force their way back into the contest after the yellow card but it always felt that they were chasing the game. In the days to come they might reflect that they did not make the most of their many visits to the Horsham 22.

Next Saturday, 29th November, S&E play Canterbury II, ‘The Pilgrims’, whose recent rally of three wins was rudely interrupted at Crescent Farm this round as Sidcup won 33-0. Both Sutton and Canterbury will be keen to return to winning ways when they meet at Merton Lane.

Sutton & Epsom
O’Brien, Fitzgerald, Bibby, Bunting ©, Ghumra, Lennard, Wise, Johnson, Lennie, Mount, McTaggart, Duey, Rea, Tame, & Hegarty. Reps: Boaden, Finney & Munford.

Horsham
Warwick, Sanders, Whittaker, Johnson, Nwachukwu, Blake Linfield, Standing, Kilfeather, Osgood, Denhart, Howard, Thompson, Paku & Smith. Reps: Earle, Murphy & Grogan. 

 

 

Mens 1st XV

Regional 2 South East: view league table