An AWAY Loss - but a good effort put in.

Selection:

Heron, Puttick, Whitworth, Downsborough, Shipman, Raby, Mollet, Ward, R.Cole, Gianotti, Sharp, Storey, Bruce, Thornton, Hinchliffe.
Subs: Cockcroft & Wadsworth

Scorers:

Try: Puttick
Con: Cole

Report:

On a bright afternoon, Heath kicked off and started well against lively opposition. The visitors were dominant in the scrum and their catch and drive was causing issues, with returning Ian Downsborough marshalling the pack. After a couple of half chances, a kick by Richard Cole to the corner saw Heath catch and drive, Mark Puttick peeled off the back and charged over the line from ten metres, Cole converted.

Sheffield had their best spell, tipping on passes and making good yards, eventually scoring a converted try from close range. Tobias Hinchliffe held up an opponent over the line and Jack Bruce intercepted deep inside his own half only to be chased down after a fifty metre dash. Jacob Storey had to leave the field with a shoulder injury with the welcome return of Tom Cockroft on at fullback. Half time 7-7.

Heath needed to cut out the penalties and focus on ball retention. George Heron, Joe Shipman and Downsborough ran hard but the final passes weren’t sticking. Sheffield’s impressive number eight scored from his own half, pushing through and out pacing the Heath defence. Cole hobbled off with a calf injury, replaced by debutant Rhys Wadsworth, with the lively Jack Mollet moving to the wing.

With no fit replacements available for Heath, the home side's large squad and rotation of players started to take its toll. With twenty minutes remaining Puttick was forced off with a shoulder problem. Heath continued to battle hard and young half backs Sam Sharp and Ben Gianotti combined well and set up a number of good opportunities. James Whitworth and Jack Thornton both scampered down the wing and Brook Ward attacked well before being forced from the field with a finger injury. Sheffield added three more tries to complete the scoring.

This was a good performance against a strong third team, with a squad of 25+. With loads of positives, combining the experienced players and young players in the squad the wins will come. UTH 👊