Bognor slip up at Basingstoke – and slide from top spot

Having conceded two soft tries in the first five minutes, Bognor their way back into this match and will be very disappointed with the end result which saw them knocked off the top of the table by Portsmouth.

Worryingly Bognor have now lost three of their past five games, while Portsmouth, having lost all of their first three matches, have not tasted defeat since September, making them hot favourites for promotion.

The late kick-off meant the match was played under floodlights, but the weather deteriorated badly in the second half, resulting in a poor-quality, error-strewn game. In the end it was Basingstoke who adjusted better to the conditions, made fewer mistakes and finished the game looking the stronger side.

The contest could not have started worse for Bognor, a missed tackle in the first minute resulting in a try for the home side.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the visitors tried to run a tap-penalty from deep in their own half and, when the ball was spilt, Basingstoke gratefully picked up the pieces and touched down for their second try in the space of the opening five minutes.

Bognor hit back through the first of several strong runs from Adam Halligan, followed by a storming break by James Rimmer. The move ended in frustration for the visitors when they were penalised at the breakdown, a theme that seemed to continue.

Bognor were now well on top in terms of territory and possession but it was lack of accuracy in terms of forward passes and dropped balls that prevented the visitors from getting on the scoresheet.

Connor Herrington made a half-break and passed to Halligan who chipped ahead and got a hand to the ball over the line , only to see the try disallowed by the referee who adjudged that he hadn’t grounded the ball properly. After twenty minutes the home defence was finally breached when prop Simon Billingham crashed over for Bognor’s first try.

Now playing some great rugby the ball was flying through the hands and a great move started and finished by Dave Sweeney saw the ball popped to Jeremy Newton-Young, the full-back crossing strongly for the visitors’ second try.

Poor defence by Bognor off the back of a lineout saw Basingstoke’s scrum-half make thirty yards before a hand was laid on him. The ball was eventually held up over the line and Bognor breathed a sigh of relief.

Another dangerous run by Halligan stretched the home defence but a slip by the young winger slowed the move and, more ominously, ended with the recurrence of a hamstring injury. He stayed on long enough to score a try in the corner which gave his side a five-point lead at half-time and the knowledge that they would have wind advantage in the second half.

Bognor had been dominant ever since the opening ten minutes of the first half and their set-pieces looked comfortable. That, however, was as good as it was going to get, Basingstoke again flying out of the blocks and scoring their third try, this time from a driving lineout. The successful conversion meant that, against the run of play, the home side were back in the lead.

Kurtus Dent nudged Bognor back into a one-point lead with a well-struck penalty but the visitors looked far from comfortable. The referee’s whistle became the dominant force of the second half, together with the worsening conditions, and the game never really flowed for the remaining 20 minutes.

Penalties conceded by Bognor ranged from technical infringements at a previously dominant scrum, to off-sides, to errors at the breakdown. Whatever the reasons, Basingstoke kicked another penalty and the game as a spectacle was finished.

With just two minutes left Herrington gave the visiting supporters some hope with a final classic break but he was hauled down by a magnificent match-saving tackle by his opposite number and the game was over.

In the same division Chichester lost 26-14 at Andvoer.

Bognor and Chichester do not play again until February 14 – when Bognor travel to Sandown and Shanklin and Chichester host Basingstoke.