Petersfield came from behind to earn a 17-12 victory at Chobham in Regional South Central Two on Saturday.

The pitch was in excellent condition and a strong cross-field wind kept threatening showers at bay.

The first side to threaten a try were Petersfield, who through a series of passes from hand - and a kick pass which full-back Charlie Muir hung on to above his head - streaked down the leeward try line to dot down over the line while being tackled, but the try was disallowed as the ball was judged held up.

With the wind causing havoc for both teams - kicks hanging in the air or drifting away from the intended target, and passes dying in flight to be knocked on or fall to ground - Chobham were the first to prosper from a catalogue of mistakes of their and the visitors’ making.

The ball was scooped off the pitch on halfway for Chobham’s left wing to sprint down the line and avoid three tacklers to score close to the posts for a converted try, putting Chobham 7-0 ahead.

Minutes later Petersfield were inside the Chobham 22 with a penalty, which they tapped and passed to marauding back row Karter Whittock, who threw himself at the defending pack and was finally stopped a metre short.

Scrum-half Dan Chinnock was on hand to pick up and snipe round the side of the ruck but was stopped short, laying the ball back for second row Franco Tomic to pass out to his left, where prop Dan Sargent slid under the defence to score Petersfield’s first try. A touchline conversion failed but the score was back to 7-5.

Petersfield added to their score before half-time through some determined running with the ball, not least by centre Miles Sampson, wingers Toby Colwood and Eddie Matthews, and the pack with Jackson Clark and hooker Sam Brown, allowing back row Jack Janaway to cross the line for another unconverted try and make it 10-7 to Petersfield.

Six minutes into the second half a scramble for possession of a loose ball saw three Petersfield players contribute to going forward. One offloaded it to the onrushing Matt McLean, who stood up his potential tackler, sidestepped another and shrugged off a third on his way to touch down under the crossbar for Brad Caparo to convert, moving Petersfield to 17 points and looking for a fourth and bonus point try.

Chobham had lost a player to a yellow card in the first half and they would collect another in the second, but Petersfield were unable to make the numerical advantage count.

With Chobham’s bench and some revised scrum tactics, the hosts were now superior to Petersfield, this being demonstrated by the awarding of two scrum penalties in quick succession.

With Petersfield determined to find a fourth try and Chobham wanting to at least gain a losing bonus point, the game became one of nervous stalemate, until with a couple of minutes on the clock Chobham’s backs combined to see their fastest back sprint 35 metres to score close to the posts for a converted try and secure a losing bonus point, making the final score 17-12 to Petersfield.

Petersfield’s management and coaches were less than satisfied with the result, citing several areas that needed improvement in both skills and tactical awareness.

Chris Todd