After the short journey over the Downs, Petersfield, in their first-ever league rugby meeting with Chichester, were victorious with a bonus point win and regained second place in the South Central Two League. Undefeated Tottonians remain at the top of the table with maximum points, while Winchester and Farnham are just one point behind Petersfield.

Petersfield travelled with a squad featuring six new players, as some from last week were unavailable due to injury or other commitments. One notable addition was Colts graduate Tommy Allan, making his First XV starting debut at scrum-half.

On a bright, sunny day, Petersfield kicked off with the sun over their right shoulder. Within 90 seconds, they were back-pedalling over their tryline, as the aggressive Chichester back row and centres pushed for a converted try. 7-0.

Ten minutes later, at the host's ten-metre line, Petersfield’s fly-half and captain, Nick Blumlein, successfully kicked a penalty awarded for not rolling away. 7-3.

Petersfield’s somewhat frantic play saw them penalised repeatedly. Two successive penalties allowed Chichester to secure a lineout in the right corner, which they turned into an unconverted try by bursting through the middle. 12-3.

At the start of the second quarter, Chichester infringed on their ten-metre line, and an emboldened Blumlein secured another three points. 12-6.

After the restart, Chichester threatened the visitors' tryline again. In a melee of players at the base of the right-hand post, Petersfield's number eight, Franco Tomic, was yellow-carded for an infringement and given a ten-minute rest. Taking a quick tap while Petersfield reorganised their defence, Chichester crossed the line for a converted try. 19-6.

In one of Petersfield's best attacking moves, the ball was worked from deep in their half, starting on the right wing and moving to the left through seven players. The final drive for the line was halted, but a penalty was awarded, allowing Chichester to close the half with a kick to touch. Half-time: 19-6.

At this point, your reporter and at least one of the Petersfield management questioned the score posted on the board, which displayed Chichester 15 - 6 Petersfield. The referee, however, assured us the board was correct!

At the restart, Petersfield were judged offside, and Chichester took easy penalty points, moving the scoreboard to 18-6.

Six minutes into the second half, a Petersfield kick from hand was charged down inside the hosts' 22. Chichester's centre gathered the ball and kicked long into touch. Sam Dawes ran on to catch but misjudged, over-ran, and couldn’t jump high enough to claim it. The ball bounced behind him, and a sprinting Chichester player hacked it forward to score without opposition, securing a converted try. 25-6.

With more than 30 minutes left to play, many travelling supporters feared Petersfield had too much ground to make up. However, the team had reviewed their tactics at halftime. With a kickable penalty, they opted to go for the left corner. Franco Tomic made a clean lineout catch and was mauled over the line for an unconverted try. 25-11.

Ten minutes later, in a near-repeat of their first try, the lineout maul drove infield to the whitewash close to the post. The maul was adjudged to have been collapsed, awarding Petersfield a penalty try and Chichester a yellow card. 25-18.

From a Chichester lineout, the ball was passed quickly to their backline. Their winger, on an angled run, burst through a gap in the visitors' defence for a converted try. 32-18.

Chichester's left wing and tryline corner were now firmly in Petersfield’s sights, as the hosts appeared frustrated by the visitors’ tightening play. A Petersfield penalty lineout, just five metres short, saw Tomic catch and smuggle the ball to the tail, where the maul pirouetted and drove over the line. Jack Janaway touched down under a heap of players for a converted try. 32-25.

In a near-copy of their most recent score, Petersfield again drove a lineout maul over the line, perilously close to touch, with Karter Whittock securing the touchdown for an unconverted try. 32-30.

Catching up on the scoreboard but with time running out, Petersfield knew they would at least come away with a try bonus point. To the collective surprise of all the spectators, Petersfield scored yet again from a lineout rolling maul, with Dan Sargent claiming the unconverted try. 32-35.

To round off a half in which all the tries came from the pack, another lineout rolling maul saw openside flanker Karter Whittock score his second try, which Blumlein converted. Final score: 32-42.

In an unusual statistic, Petersfield scored all six tries in the second half, all from lineout rolling mauls, including the penalty try for a total of 36 points.

Although the backs were denied scoring opportunities, their energy and commitment ensured that, while the pack racked up the score, the hosts were forced into numerous mistakes and penalties.

Captain Nick Blumlein commented, “The effort and the dog today to come back and get the win was superb. Two out of three wins and second in the league, and we’ve been nowhere near our best. I’m excited to see how far this team can go.”

Squad: Harley Orr, Nic Wilde, Dan Sargent, Oli Hunt, Ryan Morse, Jack Janaway, Karter Whittock, Franco Tomic, Tommy Allan, Nick Blumlein, Miles Sampson, Will Mathews, Greg Jansen, George Davis, Sam Dawes, Ryan Wilkie, Andy Wood, Charlie Muir.

Winchester II 46 - 10 Petersfield II

Captain Jay Bremner said, "Tough day at the office for the 2s, but I’m proud of you all for the effort and fight to the end. We came up against a well-organised and fit side. We can learn a lot from this if we are to fulfil our potential in this league. Get to training, get fitter, and get into shape with more urgency. We will become that fit, organised team that other sides will have to reckon with. Rest well, and we’ll come back stronger with some solid training."

Off the back of this, massive congratulations go to Oli Bott and Sid Brockwell—two Colts making the step up to seniors with confidence and quality. A deserved try for Sid wrapped up the day.