Under pressure Chi clinch tough victory

Chichester were put to the sword by a well drilled, big Totts side in what threatened to be a banana skin in their undefeated season.

A timid start by Chi saw totts take the upper hand for the first 10mins of the game, however a try by Andy Gray on the 10th minute took us into a cheeky lead. The conversion was kicked by Brian Hinojosa and the 2s got their first 7 points early on like they have all season.

Totts took the upper hand there and then and the lack of control from kick off put them straight in to attack, on the 14th minute they scored their first converted try and Chichester were looking to be involved in a closely fought game.

A penalty by BJ took chi into the lead but poor discipline saw them answer straight back with a penalty of their own. The strong defence of Totts meant the strong carrying of the Chi forwards including Martin O'Callaghan, Andy Gray and Liam Ferguson were not as effective as normal.

The little spanish man nudged Chi a drop goal and to everyones amazement he managed a cheeky interception and a waddle in from 50m out. He tried incredibly hard to run slower and slower to allow the totts defence to tackle him but he dotted down and converted it to take a 10-20 lead on the 30th min.

Chi had the upper hand going into half time and an increase in tempo meant that the big totts forwards struggled before the break, a quickly taken penalty by veteran Richard Johnson meant he fought his way through for a try just before the break, a missed conversion meant chi had a 10-25 lead at half time.

Chichester had a few things to work on leadiing in to the 2nd half, keeping the ball moving away from the big totts forwards and a raised tempo were two important things. The next score was always going to be important and totts made sure they kept the pressure on by adding a converted try on the 47th minute, 17-25 and chi had a game on their hand.

However a slick handling movement meant that Rudi Upton almost scored in the corner, a brilliant (speculative) pass over his shoulder as he was nudged into touch saw the ageing Richard Johnson on hand to steal another try from someone! Rich is now on 13 for the season which is a great record for the old school 9. (50mins)

The conversion was missed and that finished the scoring for the game. 17-30 possibly flattered us a bit but to beat totts who are a tough side 4 times in 1 season is a big ask and a feat everyone should be proud of. The last part of the game was a war of attrition, chi dominated the lineout with Darren Lockyer and Joe Knight performing well but struggled with a lack of go forward. Liam Geoghagan was impressive as captain and George Perry performed well coming back in from a spell if injury.

With only 3 games to go it is important we keep this going. Bowl Final next week is huge, and a large crowd is welcomed. It is on SUNDAY 3rd at Chichester RFC so no excuses. An early kick off of 12pm sees the other final being played after ours and makes a good afternoon of rugby. We will be welcoming a strong Lewes 2nd team so no chances are being taken in ensuring victory.

Keep the hard work up gents, not long to go!