Chichester students hammer University College London 66-0

Chi came into the game with a strong XV that featured Lars Thorkildsen in the second row. There was a debut for half-back pairing Lewis Dudley and Jack Baldwin.

The home pack began to dominate with a front row of James Hogben, Philip Neilson and Jay Manley leading the charge.

After a turnover at an early scrum the ball was moved through Baldwin to winger Tim Cobb who beat three defenders to go over the try line. The conversion attempt from Baldwin hit the post.

A stolen line-out from stand-out player Max Johnson led to the ball being shipped out to Paddy Burnett, who came up short.

Baldwin went close with a penalty before Chichester forced a sloppy UCL clearance kick that landed in the path of winger Harry Bennett. Bennett performed a perfectly timed inside ball to Burnett who slid underneath the posts unopposed.

Following rare pressure by the visitors a turnover from open-side flanker Matt Dimbleby set Chichester back on the attack and Baldwin’s expertly placed chip allowed Bennett to sprint free to score.

The resulting kick-off earned UCL a scrum on the Chichester 22m. Captain Alex Bosley forced another turnover and after a few swift passes inside centre Jackson Van Uden slid through the defensive line with a deceptive dummy pass to score under the posts and set up Baldwin for another easy two points.

Prop Manley got Chi going again with a strong carry. Balazs Magda released a well-timed offload to send Thorkildsen down the line. Thorkildsen exchanged passes with Bennett and went over.

Leading 31-0, the hosts began the second half with intensity. Hooker Neilson took a quick tap and clever thinking and swift passing led to centre Joe Tullett coming up just short.

Loose head prop Hogben crashed over for Chichester’s sixth try as a consequence of quick transfer of the ball on the ground.

UCL attempted to mount some sort of comeback only to be thwarted by yet another dominant scrum leading to even more strong carries from both backs and forwards.

The ball found its way to in-form Tullett who placed a lovely kick over the defensive line for Cobb to outrun the defenders and pounce on the bouncing ball just past the try line to bag Chichester’s eighth.

Quick pick-ups from the base of the rucks and clever lines pushed the Chichester defence back to their 22m line. Chichester defended well and a scrum brought about a counter between Magda and Dudley that saw Dudley break through defence and streak down the pitch. The ball was moved through hands quickly and Jamel McFarlane beat the remaining defenders to score emphatically in the corner.

Manley broke a number of tackles and following some swift hands and footwork centre Tullett went under the posts for the home side’s ninth try.

Tullett was involved again with a pass to Baldwin, whose try completed the rout.

Chichester - Hogben, Neilson, Manley, Johnson, Thorkildsen, Bosley, Dimbleby, Magda, Dudley, Baldwin, Cobb, Van Uden, Tullett, Bennett, Burnett. Reps: Roberts, Green, Gardner, Shippam, Simpson, McFarlane.