Blues pass 50 points in must-win tussle
Chichester 52 Reading 21 Regional 2 South Central
The Blues were delighted to take five points from this must-win match against the bottom side.
Chichester made six changes with Liam Barker and Josh Brown coming into the pack, Isikeli Waqa and Tom Blewitt joining the backs and Jay Manly and Ed Hansell on the bench.
On an over cast afternoon, Chichester kicked off down the slope into Reading’s red zone. Rather than clear with the boot the visitors played the ball across their backline where it was intercepted and passed to Joel Andrews to score in the corner.
Blues conceded a penalty at the first scrum and Reading were on the scoreboard at 5-3.
The visitors were next to infringe and the penalty went out on the 22m line. Chi chester’ s pack mauled towards the try line, with the backsjoiningin, Richardives dotting down, converted by Elliott Haydon.
A long kick up the pitch was taken by Josh Stops and moved across to Haydon and on to MOM Tom Blewitt who sliced through the Reading defence on a 45m run to the red zone. Stops was in support for the offload and a try under the posts converted by Haydon, 19-3.
For the next 22 minutes Reading took the game to Chi, forcing infringements at the breakdown that saw them score a converted try and two penalties to close it to 19-16.
In the final minute of the half, Napolioni Rabale took a long kick from the Reading full back, passed to Stops who released Blewitt on the touch line for another blistering run before he was forced into touch. Zac Conley stole it at the lineout and the forwards mauled towards the try line, with Richard Ives touching down for his second try and a bonus point, converted by Haydon. HT 26-16
From the restart Chichester were under pressure. Reading switched to pick and goes and got the ball over the line, 26-21.
Chichester were a player down but took the game to Reading and were awarded a penalty, Haydon’s kick finding touch on the 5m line.
Josh Brown got within a metre of the line before being stopped illegally. It was spun out to a charging Charlie Davies who brushed a side two tacklers to score under the posts, converted by Haydon for 33-21, with Reading losing a player to the bin.
Haydon broke from halfway before the visitors’ scrambling defence stopped his advance, but an offload to Andrews saw the young winger dot down invulture’s Corner for his second try, converted by Haydon.
From a line out chi chester released their backs and flyhalf Haydon jinked through a gap in the defence to score under the posts, converted by Haydon, 47-21.
Reading conceded a freekick and a monster wind assisted kick from Haydon found the visitors’ fullback isolated and caught by Napolioni. It was moved to Blewitt who took the ball in to contact 5m out, allowing Andrews to pick up and nip in by the corner flag for his hat-trick.
Chichester’s next match is February at Wimborne.