Lewes RFC

Sat 8 Mar 2025, 15:00

Shoreham

31 - 25

(HT 0-0)

Lewes

Shoreham

Lewes

What a contrast to the earlier game with Shoreham that was played in wet and windy conditions. Spring had come to sunny Shoreham and the game was played in glorious sunshine on a firm pitch. The only similarity was that this was another close game between two well-matched sides after Lewes’ narrow 24-20 win at home.

And it was Lewes who sped into an early lead with a well-taken Harry Carr try in their first attack. However Lewes came unstuck in the next three scrums, and Shoreham took advantage with an equalising try. Lewes struck back with another Carr try that too him to eight tries this season.

Shoreham then narrowed the Lewe lead with a penalty goal after James Sale was caught in an offside position, but then went further with a try from a rolling maul that was converted to take the score to 15-10. When the Shoreham scrum half transgressed after a scrum, Tom Moore’s penalty kick took the score to 15-13 at half time.

The fact that the teams got to half time with that same score was down to magnificent pieces of defending from Lewes that really typifies the sprit in the team. First Harry Carr produced a try-saving tackle that prevented what to the spectators seemed like an odds-on Shoreham score. Then Harry Weston got underneath the Shoreham ball carrier in the Lewes dead ball area to force a goal line drop-out.

During the second half the penalty count against Lewes seemed to increase, and from the outset an early penalty goal increased Shoreham’s lead to 18-13. Then great tackling by the Lewes centres set up a brilliant counter attack that saw Kellen Harvey with a clear run to the line, only to be pulled back by another penalty award to Shoreham.

That penalty took Shoreham up the other end to score a goal that meant the score was 25-13 when it could have been 18-18. But who do Lewes call upon in their hour of need? Yes, was Kane Dadswell, the try scoring prop, who came up with a tremendous try that was well converted by Moore.

This was nearly followed by a clean break by Harry Carr, but he was called back for another penalty. The penalty count was still rising against Lewes and Shoreham converted two of these to stretch their lead to 31-20. And as the spate of penalties increased, a yellow card for protesting one these went Lewes’ way to hamper their chances in the closing stages.

With the teams scoring three tries each there was a bonus point try at stake and Lewes were certainly going to go for it. Inspired by Gus Taylor, the youthful Lewes back line set up one last attack that sent Kellen Harvey through for the best try of the match. And just as Will Hoff against Crawley five weeks earlier had earned two bonus points with one try, so too did Kellen here. It was no more than Lewes deserved as the missed conversion heralded the final whistle with the score 31-25.

With a break for Super Saturday next weekend, Lewes will look forward to the visit of Worthing on 22^nd March. The last league game of the season is at Pulborough on 5^th April and then the Sussex Junior Shield Final at Burgess Hill on 26^th April will round off the season

Lewes team: Moore; Carr, Green (captain), Harvey, Hoff; Taylor, Lacy; K. Dadswell, A. Dadswell, Norman; Petty, Sale; Weston, Strasman, Medhurst. Replacements: King, Bradford, George-Coker.