HARWICH and Dovercourt Rugby Club coach Shane Manning hailed the “heart and determination” of his players after their thrilling victory against Sudbury.

Losing at half-time and facing the prospect of a first home league defeat for two years, the Low Road side stormed back to win 23-21.

At one point they had been 21-8 down.

It continued the club’s great start in Eastern Counties League division two and also acted as a perfect confidence-booster heading into today’s Suffolk Plate semi-final against Mildenhall.

“I was very proud of the determination and heart the lads showed,” said Manning.

“We couldn’t have been more up against it, having lost a player the night before and then two more ten minutes before kick-off, due to injuries in the warm-up.

“We had to call on two of the young lads who were there watching, Adam Eldridge and Adam Palmer.

“They were on the bench for us and did a brilliant job.

“Alex Cullen also stepped up and showed his class, switching from eight to ten during the game and also taking over the kicking duties, and that proved a key factor in us winning the game.”