Guildford Rugby Club
We didn't do ourselves justice
Chichester 27 – 14 Guildford
Saturday 2nd December 2023
We didn't do ourselves justice
Thinking that the game would not be on due to the adverse weather conditions, it was a pleasant surprise to be welcomed by a bright, sunny, but very cold day in Chichester. The pitch was soft underfoot, but by no means muddy
Guildford showed several positional and personnel changes from the team against Farnham, due to a contingent playing sevens in Dubai, injuries and unavailability. However, we now fortunately have a larger pool of players to choose from and the boys were confident.
Guildford kicked off up the slope and compared to previous away games, looked sprightly in the early exchanges creating space out wide whenever possible. Chichester made early inroads and missed an early attempt at goal. After 15 mins they successfully converted a penalty to open the scoring, 3 – 0.
About 10 minutes later, Harry Henley-Philips was shown a yellow card for an innocuous looking high tackle. Guildford defended the tryline well with 14 men and managed to turn over however, they lost the ball at the scrum, Chichester fed the ball to the outside centre who went over out wide. The conversion was good, taking the score to 8-0.
Guildford had some good phases of play and created good space out wide. Unfortunately, the final pass didn't stick when we had a four man overlap on the right. Then, Tom Waddell, who gets through a lot of good work in a game, fed the ball back inside to his supporting player who just couldn't hold on with the tryline at his mercy! This was followed by a charge down under the Chichester posts which got the Guildford hearts racing, but again, the opportunity was lost when the defence touched the ball down.
With seconds remaining in the first half, some good, determined running from forwards and backs resulted in Charlie Cutting forcing his way over in the corner. The conversion from Joe Gwyther off the touchline was good, taking the score to 8 – 7, as the half time whistle went.
In the second half Guildford were unable to build on the final moments of the first half, where they were beginning to assert themselves. Indeed, at times they let the Chichester players gain ground by not being dominant in the tackle. Chichester scored the first try of the second half from a rolling maul off a lineout but missed the conversion, score 13 - 7 after 48 mins.
With over 60 mins on the clock, Guildford worked their way into the Chichester 22 and the backs created space for Lewis Bounds to go over near to the posts. The try was converted by Jonny Burden as sadly, Rob Voller went down injured and Joe Gwyther had previously been replaced by Luke Outhwaite, the score was now 13 – 14.
As the match entered the final 15 minutes, Chichester were awarded another penalty at the breakdown which looked a certain three points, but to build the tension even further, it was missed and Guildford were still hanging on in there. Once again, Chichester dominated possession, Guildford repeatedly falling foul of the referee at the breakdown. Chichester opted to kick for the corner and, from the 5m lineout, the maul looked like it was contested by all the players on the field with the backs from both sides joining in. Chichester controlled the drive, and the referee gave the try. The conversion was good, 20 – 14 with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
Guildford tried to force the game in the final minutes, but another loud blast on the whistle put an end to any chance of a winning score. Chichester, their pack having the upper hand, opted for the corner again and the result of the driving maul was another converted try which made the final score 27-14.
Not Guildford’s finest performance. The changes, both positionally and in personnel, meant that the cohesion that has been evident in the previous games was lost. It is nigh on impossible to win a game of rugby without the ball – and Guildford had very little of the ball in the second half and without any defensive dominance, they didn't look like turning the ball over.
Injuries to both Rob Voller and Ollie Millward will give the coaches cause for concern and we hope both players are fit and well as soon as possible.
This was a game we could have won if we had shown the same resolve and authority that we did in the previous outing. The good thing is that we have another game next week to put things right, away at Salisbury. The bus will leave Broadwater at 1045 for those wishing to travel on the bus to support the team.
Mike Burden and Francoise Rankin
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