Seconds continue their winning ways.

Heath 2nds. Heath took the field knowing that a victory over visitors Dinnington in the Merit League would leave them with a 100% record after 4 games and also 5 wins on the trot. Dinnington, who included a number of young lads in their side, kicked off into a slight breeze and Heath immediately went on the offensive. Dinnington conceded a line out 5 metres from their line and the ball was caught and transferred straightaway to “Rocky” ROYSTON who ran down the blindside to score an unconverted try in the corner making it 5-0 after only 3 minutes. Heath continued to dominate and were rewarded in the 10th minute when a scrum within 15 metres of the Dinnington line was won and the ball was passed to outside half, Martin SHAW who burst through a couple of tackles to score a try by the posts. Oliver COOK converted to give Heath a 12-0 lead and everything was looking good at this stage. However, the visitors got themselves more involved in the game albeit they never put the home line under real pressure. Yet it was always Heath who looked capable of increasing their lead. After 29 minutes, Heath did just that. From an attacking scrum 5 metres from the Dinnington line, the ball was sweetly struck by hooker, Oliver WILBY, and the pack then pushed their opponents over the line allowing number 8, Neil SMURTHWAITE, to control and then pick up the ball to score an unconverted try near the corner. The score was now 17-0 and Heath were dominating the game, particularly in the forwards where the “older Heath boys” were outplaying their younger opposition “8”. Half time arrived and the second half was only a few minutes old when Neil SMURTHWAITE, the influential number 8, was forced to leave the field with a back strain. He was replaced by Rick PAINTER, who slotted in at hooker with Oliver WILBY moving into the back row. The young opposition back line was now moving the ball wide at every opportunity and this paid dividends after 48 minutes when the ball was passed down the line to the Dinnington outside centre who ran through an attempted tackle and scored to the right of the posts which was well converted. The score was now 17-7 and Heath knew that they still had a lot of hard work to do. Dinnington continued to press and Heath did not help themselves missing kicks to touch which immediately allowed the speedy young back line to run the ball straight back at them. Dinnington were visibly increasing in confidence and Heath had to rely on excellent defensive work by all of the team to keep them at bay. The pressure was relieved after 68 minutes when Heath were awarded a penalty some 35 metres out superbly converted by Oliver COOK to increase the lead to 20-7. This came from a period of pressure by the Heath forwards who were making good ground by repeatedly driving the ball in and recycling. Dinnington came back at Heath and only a couple of tactical errors on their behalf, kicking instead of passing, prevented them adding to their score. After 79 minutes, they got their reward when the home defence eventually cracked after a period of sustained pressure, when a try was scored 15 metres in from touch. This was converted to make the score 20-14. Heath kicked off and did not allow their opponents to gain quick ball for one last effort on the home line, the referee blowing for “no side”. This was a hard-earned victory for Heath and 5 wins out of 6 is an excellent start to the season but the boys appreciate that this run of form will only be maintained by putting in the necessary hard work and commitment on a regular basis, as they have done thus far. Man of the match awards went to John HAMPSHIRE in the backs and Roger HAMMOND in the pack, who went about his business with the minimum of fuss.