Groundhog Day?

We travelled to a windswept and monsoon like Hove looking to bounce back from last week.
During the warm up, the rain really was torrential, sweeping across the park almost horizontally. But we kept at it, finishing only a little before usual.
Needless to say, the ball proved to be behaving like the proverbial bar of soap!

We started slowly with the rain continuing to chuck it down, which made ball control a little more challenging- with both sides losing control in contact.
As the ran eased off, we saw our ball control improve somewhat .
Just before the 15 minute mark, Captain Arnold latched on to a kick through and touched down for the first points of the half. This appeared to settle the boys and we began to see a bit more control.
Our pressure began to yield results and Michael Simmonds managed to secure a bobbling ball and dab down for our second try. A great conversion from Ollie Adams into the teeth of the gale added the extras.
The half continued as a bit of an arm wrestle, in part due to the conditions, but more down to great defence from Hove, who worked especially well at the breakdown, with great body shape protecting their own ball and competing for ours!
As the weather improved, the game shifted to enable the backs to bring more influence, evidenced by the final try of the half coming from Max Crawley-Moore.
Half time 0-17

The second half carried on where the first had finished, with the backs beginning to dominate, which saw tries from Jack Andrews plus a brace each for ‘old hand’ Ben Beard and debutant Leo Cammish.
Full time 0-46

Not a polished performance. Great to keep a clean sheet. Thanks to Hove for keeping us on our toes for the full 80. Lots of opportunities to improve, but as we say ‘onwards’!

We finally are returning to Saint Hill after a long time on the road. Looking forward to seeing you on 9th November.