Bognor give Heathens the heave-ho

Chris Webb was a key man for Bognor at Fareham / Picture by Kate Shemilt

Bognor again beat the Fareham Heathans - the side they had defeated two years ago to gain promotion into London three south west.

This time it finished 34-10 to the men from Hampshire Avenue in a Hampshire League division one clash, making for a happy journey home along the coast.

Both teams looked ready for the battle on a very muddy pitch.

Skipper Lee Balchin looked extremely focused and set the tone with a crunching hit early on from the first Fareham carry.

Unfortunately the ex-county back row’s game was brought to a halt a few minutes later after a vicious knee to the kidney at the bottom of a ruck. The game was about to get a lot tougher without him.

Bognor scored early with Sean Power slotting over with ease from a short distance.

After some great carrying in the midfield from George Castleton and Chris Webb, Bognor were awarded another penalty and Power nudged the egg over again for a 6-0 lead.

Both teams brought immense physicality into the game and James Barlow showed this alongside second row partner Darren Bidwell, the locks linking up fantastically in the central channels.

Adam Knight continued to prove his worth after coming on for Balchin and made light work of things, but Bognor were pegged back by a penalty after Josh Burgess couldn’t wiggle his large frame out of a ruck. .

Fareham bounced back after early pressure from the away side, the full-back going over in the corner and converting his own try.

But Bognor’s centres looked tasty, and Joshua Riggall and Sam Newcombe showed excellent hands at the start of the second half with the 12 finishing over the whitewash in style to give the Hampshire Avenue team a 13-10 lead.