Gosport stand tall in testing conditions
Head coach Mark Pollard was delighted at the way his Gosport & Fareham squad dealt with the difficult conditions to deliver a comeback 45-7 Hampshire Premier victory at Chichester 2nds.
Gosport, playing their first fixture of 2022, went
7-0 behind in the early exchanges before scoring seven tries as a run of 45 unanswered points saw the second-placed side keep the pressure on leaders Havant 2nds.
Conditions were far from ideal, with very little grass to be seen on a muddy Oaklands Park playing surface given the constant rainfall throughout the match and in the days leading up to the fixture.
But Pollard took great comfort from the way his troops performed to produce an 11th league win in 12 matches this season in what were testing conditions.
The Gosport head coach said: ‘To be able to score 45 points in conditions like that, the boys were really happy with that, and I’m really pleased.
‘There are still some work-ons and things we need to brush up on ready for next week and the rest of the season, but I can’t really complain at a 45-7 win having been down seven points.
‘Afterwards walking off the pitch, I think it was pretty equal colours at the end - it was just a shade of brown.
‘Chichester were a good team, it was definitely a different team from what we played at home, we played them at home in very similar conditions, albeit in September time, when it was just torrential rain.
‘They (Chichester) played some really good rugby and the boys defended well.’
Gosport, returning to competitive action after an extended 32-day festive break, were shocked into life after conceded an early converted try to fall 7-0 behind.
But a run of 45 unanswered points and seven tries coming from Tim Snowden and Ash Wakefield (both two) along with
Samuel Gee, Alex Duncombe and Kieran McRoberts wrapped up the 45-7 victory.