Chichester 17 – 21 Bognor 

On Sunday Bognor travelled to Chichester to take on their close rivals in a league fixture. Despite some close games in recent years Chichester had thus far always emerged victorious from this fixture. Bognor took to the pitch determined that this time it would be different.

From the very first kick off Bognor attacked the home side and secured the ball. Strong tackling from the entire pack and a superior grasp of the ruck situation was to prove the deciding factor in the match, with the visitors securing ball after ball from the tackle area throughout the first half. In addition the back line had a superb afternoon in both attack and defence. Two minutes into the game the Bognor pack made inroads into the Chichester 22 and from another successful ruck, influential scrum half Joe Heywood, fed fly-half Lee Shergold who spotted the defence retreating in panic and fired a superb drop goal straight between the posts to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

With Chichester’s pack being regularly turned over at the tackle area by Adam Smith and Cassim Ali, it was down to their talented back line to make the best of the limited ball supply that they got. That said they attacked at every opportunity and only superb tackling from Tom Williamses in the centre, and both the wingers, Tom McCarron and Shane Stevens, prevented Chichester from scoring during the first 30 minutes.

The first try of the game went to the commanding Bognor pack after another series of drives saw them pressuring the Chichester line. Winning ruck after ruck with tight, controlled forward play, the pack drew ever closer to the try line. From two metres out huge flanker Oliver Murray picked up the ball at the back of the ruck and with 3 of his team mates driving him forward he crashed over the line to score. Shergold added the conversion for a 10-0 lead.

The next points went to Chichester after an offside call gave them a penalty which they calmly slotted from out wide to close the gap. However, undettered by this the visitors continued to apply the pressure. After a couple of close runs, heavyweight centre Josh Burgess ploughed through the defenders to set up good field position, a well worked move saw the ball thrown 30 yards to full back Ashley Butt who raced down the pitch. Drawing the Chichester winger to him, he released an inch perfect ball to Stevens who was galloping at his shoulder, and despite two attempts to haul him back he sped to the corner for the try to give Bognor a deserved 15-3 lead at half time.

The second half proved to be a different affair and to Chichester’s credit they very nearly played their way to a win. Despite Bognor taking advantage of an easy 3 points from an early penalty it was the home side that had the best of the second half. Needing three scores to win they set about the task with conviction. The Chichester 10 had a superb second half and very nearly earned his side the victory. Showing great skill with the ball in hand, and determination in the contact area, he helped to create two tries in quick succession. The Chichester backline decided to run everything in an attempt to find a way back in the game and some lacklustre tackling saw the sturdy home winger helping himself to ten points. The pick being the second try which saw him break three tackles to race away to the line. Both tries were converted to bring the score to 18-17 leaving Bognor with the slenderest of leads. The strain of defence and the hard ground took its toll on the visitors and a number of enforced substitutions did not bode well.

However, it turned out that the fresh legs arrived just in the nick of time. Flankers Mitch Brock and Daryll Burnett, Prop Sam Griffin, and winger Sam May all made big tackles to halt Chichester’s progress, and from a rare 2^nd half visit to the home sides half Shergold added another three points from a penalty to give Bognor a 4pt cushion.

This lead to a tense and exiting last 10 minutes. Chichester attacked again and again, yet Bognor always seemed to have a man in the right place when it counted. Captain Satpal Nagi, 2^nd rows Tom Parsons and Jacob Masters defied their tiredness to put in crunching tackles in the final few minutes. From the last attack of the game Chichester fought their way into the Bognor 22 only to lose the ball in the ensuing ruck. Prop Griffins attempted clearance saw the ball deflected from a Chichester charge down. Mercifully the ball fell to Butt who knowing it was the last play of the game booted it behind his Own line to secure the victory. 21-18 to Bognor, however, both sides deserve huge credit for providing a fiercely fought, exciting game of rugby.

Bognor Team:

Nagi (Capt), Banks, Ali, Parsons, Masters, R. Stevens, Murray, Smith, Heywood, Shergold, Burgess, Williamses, McCarron, S.Stevens, Butt, May, Griffin, Burnett, Blewitt, Holden.