Gordon Denslow could not have picked a better time or place to score his first try for Haywards Heath.

The former Lewes skipper struck 72 minutes into his first return to the Stanley Turner Ground since his summer transfer.

His neat little kick and chase down the narrow side finally killed off a resolute Worthing side and clinched Heath's league and cup double.

It also put Denslow one up on his victorious team mates.

He joked: "They are all talking about winning six cups in a row but I've won it with two different teams now.

"This ground means a lot to me. I will always have fond memories of playing on this pitch.

"I spent 14 years here but I think it was right to move to Haywards Heath and step up a standard."

Henry Goodburn added a try in stoppage time, stepping inside a tackle after Andy Cook had come into the line, to continue his record of scoring in every Heath cup final.

Until that late double blow it had appeared the holders would again be reliant on the right boot of Owen Ashton to win a high-pressure contest.

Worthing, with skipper Mike Imrie pulling the strings at scrum half, played out of their skins and two beautifully crafted first-half tries had their big following dreaming of a shock win.

Their 12-6 interval lead, however, proved inadequate insulation against a chill northerly wind which Heath harnessed expertly in the second half.

Denslow admitted: "Worthing tackled superbly, spoiled a lot of possession and got in some nasty places to deny us any decent ball.

"But we were happy to turn round at 12-6 having not played that well. Owen has kicked superbly all year so we were reasonably confident."

Worthing's gameplan was to take first use of the wind and pin Heath back with tactical kicks.

But it as when Imrie decided to keep ball in hand that they made a stunning breakthrough.

Terry Butler was unleashed on the blindside and made a scintillating break before feeding inside for the skipper to score.

The second try also came after expert use of the shorter side, left winger Tony Cruz getting in at the flag and Ben Coulson converting from touch to partly atone for three earlier penalty misses.

Heath's only threat came when Giles Goodburn sent brother Henry to the line with a pass which was slightly forward but they always seemed confident they would have enough in reserve.

They got the ball downfield as quickly as possible with the wind behind them and their nagging pressure resulted in a series of penalties as Worthing lost their discipline.

Denslow's opposite number Del Howard was in the sin bin when the two Heath tries eventually came.

Imrie praised his side's efforts but admitted: "The second half was the longest 40 minutes of rugby I have ever played. We kept giving away penalties. The referee was good, they were penalties, but our discipline was poor."

Haywards Heath: A. Cook, Ashton, G. Goodburn, Rolandi, H. Goodburn, Jon Graham, Meredith; Edwards, Denslow, Sheppard, Atkin, Lyall, Wattam, D. Cook, Rankin. Reps: Swain, Stagg, Justin Graham, Virgin, Travis, McDonald.

Worthing: Coulson, Butler, S. Imrie, Quirk, Cruz, McLaughlan, M. Imrie; Wilcox, Howard, Bennett, B. McGowan, Cox, Gatford, Brace, Newhouse. Reps: Piggott, Mills, Davis, Cooper, Weston, Gilbert, Palmer.

Heath scorers: Denslow 1T (72), H. Goodburn 1T (80), Ashton 5PG (30, 37, 50, 58, 60)

Worthing scorers: M. Imrie 1T (22), Cruz 1T (33), Coulson 1C.

Sequence: 0-5, 3-5, 3-12, 6-12 (HT), 9-12, 12-12, 15-12, 20-12, 25-12.

Referee: Wayne Barnes (East Midlands).

Final score: Haywards Heath 25, Worthing 12