Alresford 26 – Chineham 21 [10th January 2026]
Alresford welcomed Chineham to a bitterly cold Arlebury Park for our first game of 2026, keen to build on the momentum of the previous two wins in a row.
Chineham kicked off the first half, determined to make an indentation in the Alresford defence. However, in spite of repeated incursions into the Alresford half, they were limited to three penalties in relatively quick succession as they surprisingly elected to take points instead of going for tries.
In spite of the scoreline reading 0-9 after 18 minutes, the home side remained undaunted, and slowly but surely, started to impose themselves on the game with a series of fluid attacking moves. This bore fruit after 21 minutes with our first try of the afternoon, with the resulting conversion closing the scores to 7-9.
And ten minutes later, another sustained period of pressure resulted in our second converted try being scored; 14-9 to Alresford.
This was followed shortly after with another well worked try by the home team, with the conversion making it 21-9.
But Chineham remained determined, and were rewarded with their endeavours just before the half time whistle with their first try of the afternoon. With the conversion missed, the score at the half was;
Alresford 21 – Chineham 14
The home team kicked off the second half keen to regain the upper hand. But both teams had the measure of each other and an attritional game of chess soon developed.
It was Chineham who troubled the scoreboard next with their second try of the afternoon. The conversion now brought the scores level at 21-21.
This was the time when Alresford regrouped under the posts, and came back with a controlled period of both ferocious defence and quick flowing attack, and this passage of play was rewarded with our fourth bonus point try of the afternoon. Although the conversion was missed, the home team were back in the lead at 26-21.
And despite both teams continuing to press, these were the last points scored of an enthralling afternoon, with the final score being;
Alresford 26 – Chineham 21
This was a game of three acts; we had it, we lost, we had it again and refused to let it go.
As a man, we defended superbly, our pack were once again solidity personified, some of our attacking moves were a joy to behold, and as the game became more fractious towards the end of the second half, we maintained our discipline and control.
A year or so ago, at 21-21, we’d have lost this game, and it’s a credit to the players, the coaching staff and everyone involved with the renewed ethos of the club, that we held on for a win that we thoroughly deserved.
Special thanks to our vociferous home support, especially to the 2nd team, who stayed on after their game in increasingly Baltic conditions.
We have now shown that we are now a match for almost any team in the league, and can feed off the confidence of three wins in a row, and take that forward in our next two games, both of which are away.
Our thanks to Chineham for the game and we wish them well for the rest of the season.