Old Dunstonian 25 Heathfield and Waldron 3

For more than an hour the obdurate visitors remained in the game via their powerful set piece and by contesting the contact area as if their lives depended on it.

Dunstonian probed the Heathfield defence for much of the first half and discovered that there was very little change available from the pick and drive. When the ball went wide the old boys lacked their usual accurancy and this, combined with Heathfields agressive defence, meant the old boys turned round to kick down the slope with only Mark McKillop's early unconverted try to show for their efforts.

Heathfield narrowed the margin early in the second half as they pressured the old boys into coughing up a kickable penalty. With their lead reduced to two points and with Heathfield remaining tigerish in the tackle the old boys knew they were in a game. Despite the visitors defensive heroics they offered little try threat and the feeling remained that if the old boys continued to run the phases the gaps would appear.

So it proved as the Heathfield forwards tackled themselves to a virtual standstill repelling drive after drive. They could be forgiven for switching off to the extent that they allowed the quick thinking Josh Smith to wriggle over from a quick tap penalty. At 13 3 things looked brigter for the old boys and in the last few moments the bonus point was secured as first Luke Smart sprinted down the blindside from the 22 for an unconverted score and at the death Ollie Evans capped another excellent performance with a strong finish to secure the bonus point.

The final margin was harsh on Heathfield and little reflection on how tough they made securing the win. The drive of pack members Smart, Wild, Davey, Hudson, Dennis, Fluke, Boyd and Lee Smith eventually ground down the visitors, especially at the line out where Heathfields normally efficient set piece endured a frustrating afternoon. Heathfields persective can be found here - http://www.hwrfc.co.uk/Old%20DunstoniansAwayJan2012.aspx

Another tough test awaits the old boys on Saturday as they travel to Aylesford currently on an impressive winning run that includes being the only side to have defeated runaway league leaders East Grinstead this term.