Lewes' Vice-Presidents who had attended their Annual Pre-Match Xmas Lunch were treated to an exciting and thoroughly entertaining local derby on Saturday. The hosts - playing in red shirts due to a clash of colours - started briskly, confining Hastings to within their own 22 metre area for long periods. This pressure paid off after only seven minutes when right-wing Jon Pitts kicked the ball upfield and ran on to collect before touching down for the opening, unconverted try to put the first points on the board at 5-0.

See Danny Simpson's photos of the game here>>

The hosts dominated the next 10 minutes and went further head as a result after 17 minutes, inside-centre Dan Wade finishing off a flowing move between forwards and backs, Pitts slotting over the extras to extend the lead to 12-0. But the next session saw the visitors claw their way back into the game, only being thwarted by Lewes' disciplined defence. This enabled them to force their way back upfield but then Hastings broke away just before the half-time whistle for their No 8 to score their first try near the posts, the conversion by their scrum-half seeing them go in only 12-7 down at the break.

Lewes kicked-off the second half in attacking mode, and only seconds later a great break in midfield by Wade saw him spurt upfield before off-loading the ball to replacement back Gus Taylor in support for a fine try under the posts, converted by Pitts, to go further ahead at 19-7. On 55 minutes however, Hastings hit back after Lewes' full-back, Abe Bredin, was yellow-carded for (albeit accidentally!) pushing the referee. Taking full advantage of the extra man, their forwards drove towards the try line for one of their prop-forwards to score an unconverted try out left to narrow the gap once more to 19-12.

Hastings' backs were now up as they continued to force their way to Lewes' line, but the home side's line held firm and five minutes later added to their score with a counter-attacking, but unconverted, try from scrum-half Sam Hewitt for his side's fourth, bonus-point try to make it 24-12.

This was quickly followed by the best move of the match, as Lewes - after holding off Hastings pressure near their own try line - won great turn-over ball before counter-attacking the whole length of the pitch for a stunning team try finished off under the posts by Taylor, Pitts kicking over, to regain the momentum at 31-12. This sparkling play was greeted by loud applause from the large festive crowd. But to Hastings' credit, they never gave up the fight and managed to secure 2 losing bonus points of their own in the final quarter with 2 more tries (one converted) to finish the match at 31-24.

Head Coach Chris Roberts commented after the match:

"I expected a great contest; we got this as well as a highly entertaining game. There was no doubt that Lewes were the better side and led from start to finish, but Hastings and Bexhill are a difficult side to play against and contributed enormously to the game. All of the tries we scored would be fit for the highlights replay, with four of them beginning in our own half and two from within our own 22 metre. This showed excellent decision-making and supported our playing style. That said, there were times when I would have liked to have seen us play a bit more intelligently; after scoring we managed to bring the pressure back onto ourselves rather than turning the screw. To score two tries with a man in the sin-bin was a great way to run down the clock! I was especially delighted by the discipline showed by the squad as I cannot recall less penalties being awarded against us all season. I would also be very interested to see how many tackles Luke Robinson (pictured) put in today. He is a quiet and modest young man but his work rate and contribution was off the charts! With Christmas fast approaching, I am keen we finish on a high against Old Dunstonians next week, who are a place above us in the League. Doing so will keep us in the hunt for the title!"

Lewes: Warren, Bowry, Morgan, Lowen, Blunt, Furse (Capt), Moule, Robinson, Hewitt, Shiell, Pitts, Wade, Feltham, Brown, Bredin (Reps, all used: Mills, Brooker, Taylor).

High-flying Lewes 2nds had another impressive away win, beating Brighton & Hove Sea Serpnts by 7-53. Manager Aidan Byrne said: "This week, it's Christmas - yet we still had a strong side out which is a good indicator for the side from the point of view of commitment." The final score comprised 7 tries, 6 conversions and two penalties as follows:

Lewis Austin - 1 Try
Mo Bacha - 1 Conversion
Claudio Cosimetti - 1 Try
Owen Edmonds - 1 Try
Lewis Evans - 1 Try
Josh Farr - 1 Try
Jacob Bishop - 1 Penalty
Chris Jolley - 1 Try
Kris Maloney - 1 Conversion
Kai Man - 1 Try
Chris Moore - 1 Conversion
Ed Pope - 1 Conversion
Toby Quelch - 1 Conversion
Caolan Quinn - 1 Conversion
Sam Ticehurst - 1 Penalty
Joel Evans (Captain) - Man of the Match