Chichester made 6 changes to the side that beat Chobham last time out. Phil Veltom, Callum Gibson, Charlie Wallace and Chris Johnson came into the pack, with Callum Cone in the backs and Baz Magda on the bench.

The Chichester faithful made the short journey along the A27 mindful that Hove, although relegated, could be the proverbial banana skin. Having lost narrowly to both Medway and Havant in recent weeks this wasn’t lost on Blues’ coach Scott Ashley and the players.
Hove started the match strongly and alarm bells were ringing when they crossed the whitewash after only 8 minutes to take the lead. Conversion missed. 5 - 0. Blues didn’t panic and stuck to their game plan, with lightening line speed and excellent ball retention as they attempted to punch through the opposition defence. A Hove infringement provided Henry Anscombe the opportunity to pop one in the corner for a lineout on the 5m line. The lineout was executed perfectly and the forwards drove across the line for Josh Cameron to touch down. Converted by Anscombe from out wide. 5 - 7 with 15 minutes gone. 5 minutes later Tom Blewitt put on the after burners, in the Chichester half, and outstripped the Hove defence to score. Conversion missed. 5 - 12. 3 minutes later it was the turn of Chris Johnson, on his return from injury, to make one of his trademark charges from midfield. The Hove right wing made a valiant tackle but was powerless to stop the No. 8 who bulldozed his way to the line. Conversion missed. 5 - 17. A further Hove infringement provided the opportunity for the forwards to reprise the first try. A lineout 10 metres out was gathered and the forwards drove for the line, but were stopped short. Callum Cone picked up and darted down the blindside to touch down for the bonus point try after only 30 minutes. Another excellent conversion by Anscombe from out wide. 5 - 24. Chichester weren’t finished yet and with 5 minutes left it was Ed Bowden’s turn to run the ball in from the Blues’ half, having wrong footed the Hove defence. Converted. 5 - 31 at half time and the Chichester faithful’s pre-match fears seemingly allayed.

A stirring team talk by the Hove coach at half time seemed to have the desired affect. They started to pass the ball with confidence, using the width to test the Blues’ defence. After a period of sustained pressure Hove made the breakthrough to score their second try. Conversion missed. 10 - 31 with 47 minutes played. Chichester’s response was immediate with a clever run from Rhys Thompson finding a gap in the opposition defence for a simple try under the posts. Converted. 10 - 38. 2 minutes later the referee produced a yellow card and Hove were reduced to 14 men. Blues threw the kitchen sink at Hove but were unable to capitalise on the man advantage. It took a further 15 minutes to increase the score, when Baz Magda used a move from the Chris Johnson playbook to burst through and dot down for a try. Conversion missed. 10 - 43. With the clock ticking down, Hove’s advantage in the scrum gave Blues some anxious moments as play ebbed and flowed between the 22 metre lines. Neither team was able to break the other down and the referee blew for full time with the score 10 - 43.
A good team performance from Blues that moves them up to 8th place in London South 1, with 3 matches remaining.

Supporters’ man of the match was Josh Cameron.

Chichester squad: Drayson, Cameron, Veltom, Boulton, Gibson, Bowden, Wallace (Capt.), Johnson, Cone, Anscombe, Seaman, Thompson, Renwick, Blewitt, Golds, Magda, O’Callaghan and Baker.

Chichester entertain Cobham at Oaklands Park on Saturday, 30th March in the penultimate home game of the season. Kick-off is at 14:30.