On a fine but cold day at Oaklands park Chichester U11 began their Sussex cup campaign. The pool was reduced, sadly, due to Bognor withdrawing so we were left to face Midhurst, Worthing and Pulborogh.

After a relatively straightforward win over Midhurst in the Pool we faced our South Coast rivals, Worthing. The boys were clearly fired up for this game and so began 14 mins of constant tackling, rucking and counter rucking. It was fair to say that Chichester earned every part of the two tries they scored, but more importantly showed the Worthing attack a blue wall of defence. The 2-0 win was widely cheered.

Next we faced Pulborough. Having secured a couple of tries in the first half, Pulborough fought back and caught our defence napping. We lost this game 3-2 and set up some complex pool calculations.

Because of our slip up vs Pulborough and trys scored we found ourselves in second place. First place Worthing had a relatively easy semi vs Midhurst leaving us to face Pulborough again for a place in the final. No mistakes this time, with the blue wall re-built we held an early lead to face Worthing in the final.

Once again the match vs Worthing was a story of ruck and counter ruck. Both teams pushed hard but it was Chi who had the early break and scored. Chi held onto the lead deep into the second half when a break from Worthing resulted in a 1-1 draw. No extra time was allowed by the festival rules and a consultation with the organisers gave Chi the title by virtue of the fact we had beaten Worthing in the pool.

All the team played their hearts out and the win was very much deserved. Thank you to all the parents and coaches for a great day.