Sussex Police arrived in Steyning looking to disrupt the momentum we have gathered winning our first two games of the season. Both teams know each other well with honours even over the last half dozen or so matches… A large crowd gathered under clear blue skies hoping that the men in red wouldn’t be shackled by the well drilled boys in blue!

From the kick off Steyning cleared with a kick which in turn was chased down and retained by the fleet of foot, from here it was a series of hard hitting phases that saw Matthew Hodson crash over the try line from 10 yards out, reminiscent of that stone ball in Raiders of the Lost Ark… Sadly the conversion was missed. 5-0.
The next 30 minutes was full of Endeavour (Morse) but little reward, Steyning having the better of territory. Finally, with 5 minutes of the first half and yet another series of phases from set piece the Prime Suspect to score was Ben Midgeley who dotted the ball down for a 10-0 lead, sadly Peter (Get) Carter pushed the conversion wide.

Half Time

Looking to carry the momentum – and the ball - into the second half the game played out a similar theme. The Usual Suspects carried the ball once again, coupled with some quick recycling from Steyning allowing Jeremy Stewart (Happy Birthday Bilbo) to skip over the line and dot down for the third try of the game. Sadly, even Hercule Poirot couldn’t solve the mystery of where the conversion went?
Jeremy Stewart’s half back partner in crime - Pete Carter – decided to get in on the try scoring act and with some footwork that dazzled he broke through the Police back line and score his first club try. In a moment of brilliance, the and on debut James (Sinbad) Willmott converted the try with a Wilkinson esc drop goal to extend the lead to 22-0.
With 15 minutes to go, both sides tired from the physical exertions and it was Sussex Police who capitalised on a rare error from Steyning to score their first try. 22-5. Buoyed by this score both teams were tested further and with 2 minutes left the Police broke through the heart of the resolute and determined Steyning defence and scored under posts rounding off a wonderful game of rugby.
The Jury returned a verdict of 22-12…

Great performance from every player, as such we had to pick two Man of the Match names and these went to the starting props in Nathan Roberts & Ben Midgeley.

Steyning travel to Burgess Hill next week in what will be another tough game. Well done to the team and a huge thank you to those who came and supported the team on the side line. It makes a huge difference.