Chichester RFC lose 31-7 after a tough day at the office
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Blues made six changes to the team that won in style against Andover the previous week. Scott Gibbs came into the forwards, with Isikeli Waqa and Josh Vakasisikala in the backs and Riley Budding, Livai Tabua and Dom Taylor on the bench.
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Hide AdOn an overcast afternoon in Surrey, Farnham kicked off on the beautifully prepared pitch. Chichester’s clearance kick up field was moved swiftly across to the centre of the pitch where the Farnham centre’s looping run carved through Blues’ defence for a score in the corner. Converted, 7-0 after two minutes.
Chichester recovered the ball and advanced into the red zone but were penalised at the breakdown. In possession, Blues looked very nervy under pressure with passes going astray. The well drilled Farnham pack had Chichester in trouble at the scrum and, having won a penalty 10m out, they opted for the set piece and spun the ball out to the flying winger who dotted down in the corner. Converted, 14-0.
Chi secured the ball but, after multiple phases, were unable to make any forward progress. An infringement at the breakdown allowed Farnham to kick for the corner and after multiple scrums, that saw Blues lose a player to the sin bin, Chichester cleared their lines.
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Hide AdThe Blues dug deep and, for the next 20 minutes, their defence frustrated the Farnham forwards before a change of tactics saw the ball passed out to the backs and a try in the corner. Converted, 21-0. From the restart Chichester enjoyed several minutes of possession, in the Farnham half, before the referee blew for the break.
Chichester kicked off the second half and won a scrum that saw Matereti Waqanisau break from halfway and then offload to Luca Fleming, who was stopped 5m from the line.
Having played exclusively in the hosts’ half for 10 minutes it was Farnham’s turn to attack and an infringement provided them with a 5m lineout, from which they mauled over for a bonus-point try, converted, 28-0.
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Hide AdChichester upped the tempo, spending the next 20 minutes in the opposition half, competing at the scrum and turning over the ball at the breakdowns. After winning multiple penalties in the red zone Blues tapped the ball on the 5m line and drove over the try line between the posts, with Huw Binfield grounding to score. Converted by Minton, 28-7 with 10 minutes to play.
Chichester continued to play with great endeavour and, apart from an infringement 30m in front of the posts which allowed Farnham to increase their score by 3 points. They dominated play until the end but were unable to capitalise on possession with the opposition line speed resulting in too many dropped balls and knock-ons.
Having been outplayed for much of the first 40 minutes, Blues certainly enjoyed significantly more possession than Farnham in the second half and managed to negate their domination in the scrum. Positives can be drawn from this game, with the team competing for the full 80 minutes. MoM: Joe Hunter.
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Hide AdThere is now a rest weekend before Chobham visit Oaklands Park on Saturday, November 9.
Chichester squad: Carden, Binfield, Gibbs, Hawkshaw, Tucker, Conley (capt.), Hunter, Waqanisau, Stops, Minton, Andrews, Makasi, Waqa, Fleming, Vakasisikala, Budding, Tabua, Taylor.