H&B target county trophy semi-finals

The William Parker Sports College-based outfit will visit Sussex Division One rivals Crawley in the quarter-finals of the Sussex Trophy on Saturday February 25.

Table-topping H&B are two places ahead of Crawley in the league, but honours from the two meetings between the sides ended even.

"I think it would be good for the club's profile to get to a semi-final," said captain Kit Claughton. "We've got a chance of playing one of the bigger sides in the semi-final."

H&B battled past Crawley 18-10 on home territory in the league two weeks ago, but the opposition's form is good so another stiff test lies in prospect.

Either side of that match, Crawley have beaten higher grade East Grinstead 50-0 in the first round of this competition and fourth-placed Uckfield 41-0 in the league.

H&B, who have won at Crawley in cup competitions during both of the previous two seasons, themselves thrashed higher grade Brighton 47-0 in round one and got home 27-11 at Burgess Hill on Saturday.

"They're obviously playing some good rugby," Claughton continued. "They're scoring a lot of points and not conceding a lot.

"There's not a lot to pick between the sides. Defensively we're both quite good, but I think we've got a little bit more pace and a bit more skill all round. I expect it to be a very tight, tense game, but exciting."

The remarkably wet weather of the past week will probably aid Crawley's essentially forwards-orientated game on what is bound to be a sodden Willoughby Fields pitch.

Centre Kris Dempster and full-back Dave Milham are unlikely to be fully fit, but hooker Ben Davies should be ready to return to the starting line-up.