captain Mark Chandler enthused about a good day's work after Midhurst had sealed their safe passage to second round of the EDF Energy Junior Vase.
Chandler said: ‘We kept training pretty much throughout the summer, not really full-on but mostly fitness and dynamics, and it really paid off in this game.”
The Amber and Blues are prone to starting cup games slowly, but from the first whistle t
hey put in an accomplished performance.
The pack covered the ground well, winning the majority of set-pieces, while the speed merchants in the backs shifted fluidly from attack to defence.
Mike Morgan kicked Midhurst into a 3-0 lead after ten minutes, capitalising on the first of a string of Haslemere infringements in the loose, and the Amber and Blues built a steady lead.
Hamish crashed over for two spectacular tries from close quarters, aided and abetted by Chandler, while Dean Hounsell was unlucky to mistake the ten-metre line for the try line.
Morgan and Phil Luxton applied the right amount of tactical kicking to keep the points flowing and the opposition retreating for their own 22.
Haslemere were not shorn of inventiveness and pulled off a very neat forward move to score a converted try before half-time, with a second breakaway try shortly after the re-start to keep Midhurst on their toes.
But superior discipline and defensive play preserved a well-deserved Midhurst lead as Haslemere committed more errors.
Midhurst host Crawley on Saturday.
MIDHURST: Rogerson, Craig, Hamish, Moore, Proud, Hounsell, Chandler (Capt), Oakes, Morgan, Luxton, Opperman, Kitt,Giles, Windell, Hillier. Replacement: Darlington
– WAYNE MOORE
The full article contains 276 words and appears in OS-Chichester Observer newspaper.
