In near perfect conditions Ditchling travelled the short distance to Brighton for the return league fixture against Brighton 2nd XV.
Going into this game Brighton were the form team with recent wins against Lewes and (previously unbeaten) Uckfield. Ditchling travelled with a competitive squad and were feeling confident having won the previous encounter.

The early exchanges were even as both teams found their feet, although any continuity was spoiled with handling errors. It was soon evident both teams were up for this fixture with aggressive running counted by strong tackling by all 30 players.
It took until the 30 minute mark for the game to come alive when Ditchling ran back a clearance kick by Brighton with James Hill running through the pressing defence and passed onto Ollie Van Hoeken to break through the cover tackling to score the first try.
Nick Whitely Jones converted to make the score 0:7.

This spurred Brighton into action and after a series of plays won a penalty from a ruck to kick deep into Ditchling territory for a line out 10 yards from Ditchling line. Winning the lineout the Brighton no8 managed to force his way over for a converted try leveling the scores at 7:7.

Further exchanges were even with no further scores at the half time whistle.

HT Brighton 2nds 7 Ditchling 1st 7

The second half continued with open rugby from both sides. Brighton were edging the scrums and lineouts but were held at bay by aggressive tackling from Ditchling.
5 minutes into the 2nd half a break by Flyhalf Joe McIntyre released Jarrell Bobo to out pace the cover defence to score in the corner giving a 7:12 scoreline.

Brighton continued the pressure running hard at the Ditchling defence but it held firm and then, from a dropped ball, Adam Crook picked up in his own 20 metre line, broke through the initial tackle and out paced the cover defence for an 80 metre try, extending the lead to 7:17.

This spurred Brighton to move up a gear and hit Ditchling with everything they had. For the following 10 minutes they were camped on the Ditchling line only to be held up on 3 occasions and Ditchling to eventually clear their line.

Pushing the game back into the Brighton half, the Ditchling defence pressurised Brighton into mistakes leading to a penalty 30 yards out for Whitely Jones to slot over and give a 7:20 lead.

20 minutes to go Brighton then got back into the game when from a penalty the no9 ran across the pitch to then neatly chip over the defence for the running centre to collect and score, bringing the score back to 14:20.

The final 20 minutes showcased excellent interplay from both teams matched by committed tackling. Injuries were beginning to play their part including a nasty injury to Hill stopping the game for 5 minutes. But the substitutions coped well continuing the pressure.

The game ended with a penalty to Ditchling after another turnover ,which was kicked by McIntyre to give a final score of 14:23.

FT: Brighton 2nds 14 Ditchling 1st 23

This game saw the best of Ditchling. Playing with intensity for the full 80 minutes, tackling on the front foot and making the most of their opportunities. Brighton proved to be a strong and well drilled team full of skill and it took resilience and the determination from every Ditchling player to overcome this threat and go into the Christmas break with a lot to look forward to moving into the 2025 half of the season.

Scores:
Trys: Ollie Van Hoeken, Adam Crook, Jarrell Bobo
Conversions: Nick Whitely Jones
Penalties: Nick Whitely Jones, Joe McIntyre

MoM: Charlie Jacobs for tackling above his weight.
Special mention to Alex Taylor for his tackling and dominating in the rucks.