RUGBY: Victory in Yellow
10 January: Hastings & Bexhill 34, Whitstable 17
MAX MOWBRAY
Hastings & Bexhill returned to winning ways last Saturday, donning their alternative all-yellow kit against blue-and-white rivals Whitstable and securing a bonus-point victory which returns them to third place in the Kent Counties league table.
H&B (in yellow) scrum down against Whitstable
They didn’t start well. A well-drilled move off the lineout sent Whitstable over the whitewash first, and a series of bombardments on the Hastings line led to a second try: 0-10.
But the home side gradually found their rhythm. A try by Quinn McManus converted by Tom Hirst brought them back to 7–10, before captain Harry Walker greedily darted his way over to edge them ahead, 12–10. A high tackle resulted in the visitors suffering a 10-minute stint with 14 men. H&B capitalised on the resultant penalty to take a 15–10 advantage at halftime.
Whitstable broke through early in the second half to regain the lead, 15–17. But this proved to be their final score. Hastings, now reawakened, remembered how to tackle, and responded decisively.
After numerous tap-and-go attempts, Walker managed to burst his way over the Whitstable try line once more. Coupled with a conversion from the increasingly reliable boot of Hirst, this reclaimed the lead, 22–17.
H&B then pressed the advantage of a second Whitstable yellow card to score two further converted tries, one for each prop – a classic rolling maul finished by Jack Hard for 29-17, then a storming breakaway run by man of the match Kaleb Wiggan: 34-17.
Special mentions to Lewis Sealy, back in the H&B squad after a torn bicep put him out of action last year, to Calvin Crosby-Clarke, throwing darts in the lineouts and commanding play as always, and to Joe Field, also back from injury, who defended stoutly in midfield.
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