Shoreham RFC welcomed Burgess Hill All Blacks to a wet and windy Buckingham Park, with kick-off coinciding with the peak of Storm Boelo, and ran out 38-0 winners.

Coming off the back of an excellent win against Seaford, particularly a strong second-half performance, Shoreham were looking to carry that momentum into this fixture.

Shoreham came flying out of the blocks and were on top in most aspects of the game from the outset. Only some thunderous defence from the Burgess Hill backline, combined with a ball that was about as slippery as a bar of soap, prevented Shoreham from making their early dominance count.

However, the intensity of the Burgess Hill defence couldn’t withstand Shoreham’s relentless pressure for long. With 20 minutes gone, Finn picked up from the base of the ruck five metres out and powered his way over the line to open the scoring.

Shoreham RFC take on Burgess Hill RFC on a stormy day | Warwick Baker

placeholder image — Shoreham RFC take on Burgess Hill RFC on a stormy day | Warwick Baker

Shoreham continued to dominate, particularly at the lineout, and with three minutes remaining in the first half, another of their key strengths came to the fore. A well-rehearsed lineout set up a powerful rolling maul, allowing Mark Lavery to crash over for his sixth try of the season.

That’s a remarkable return considering he had scored just six tries in the previous 15 years combined.

The weather, much like Shoreham, refused to let up in the second half. Despite the challenging conditions, some excellent forward play and aggressive running from George Denisson, Tom Miller and captain Steve Goater laid the platform for Shoreham to add another four tries without reply.

Special mention must go to Darren Locke who successfully landed all but one of his conversions in truly miserable conditions.

Shoreham and Burgess Hill in action | Warwick Baker

Shoreham eventually ran out convincing 38–0 winners, with further tries from Tom Miller Sean Shepherd and Connor Fairhall securing a valuable bonus point. The pick of the bunch came from Connor, who carved his way through the Burgess Hill backline from 30 metres out following some excellent forward work to create the opportunity.

With two wins from their last two fixtures, Shoreham climb to fifth in the league after a difficult start to the season. The team will be looking to continue their momentum when they travel to face Horsham 2nd XV away at Horsham.

Meanwhile, Shoreham’s second team were also looking to get their season under way away at St Francis.