Passion and desire help Havant reach new level

In front of a large, vociferous crowd the home side exacted full revenge for their early season loss against the same opponents in Sussex.

Senior coach Will Knight rated it as the best and most complete performance so far this season.

He said: ‘This is a big win for us. We held our discipline, held our nerve and played intelligent rugby.

‘The players applied the patterns that we have worked on in training.

‘It was a pressure game for us after losing at Brighton just before Christmas but the players went out and showed they can handle it.

‘Chichester had beaten us in the five previous meetings so we knew it wouldn’t be easy.

‘However, we have grown as a team since early in the season and were determined to put the record straight.

‘There is now a belief and level of expectation that we can go out and win these games.

‘I think the players made an emphatic statement of their intentions for the rest of the season.’

Chichester struck first when their forwards bundled over for a converted try.

Havant responded when Joel Knight got them on the scoreboard with a penalty before they took the lead with a 26th-minute try.

Second-row forward Richie Janes cut open the defence before a combination of footwork and power took hooker Jerome Trail over the line.

Knight converted and knocked over a superb long-range penalty to give Havant a 13-7 lead at the break.

Sixteen minutes into the second period centre Ben Brierley crossed in the corner following excellent build-up play.

Janes again showed his quality with another brilliant 30-yard run in before Chichester replied with another try from their forwards.

Knight kicked another penalty and replacement full-back Luke Warrington rounded things off nicely with a superb individual try.

Gathering the ball on his own twenty-two Warrington chipped the ball over the Chichester defensive line and ran on to regather the ball score a length of the pitch try.

It was a superb performance and Will Knight praised the supporters.

‘There was an amazing atmosphere in the ground,’ he added.

‘It is unique in our lead and the only other club that comes anywhere near it is Gravesend.

‘Playing in front of a packed stand and a noisy crowd makes it a place the players love playing at.

‘The support we get is very important to the team.

‘If we are going to get ourselves back into the promotion places we need to remain spot on for the rest of the season.’