PJF start the season on a a positive note

On a beautiful afternoon at the Pightle PJF kicked off their league season against local rival Chipstead. From the kick off PJF looked the more eager for the victory. The first 10 minutes were spent in the Chipstead 22m with PJF applying intense pressure. After a neat turnover by PJF Luke Couchman went in under the posts and Dan Wilkinson added the extras. PJF continued to press and forced a number of Chipstead touchdowns behind their own line but PJF couldn't add to their score. It was Chipstead who made the next contribution to the scoreboard with a penalty that was awarded close to PJFs posts. But their comeback was short lived when a sweeping move from their own half saw Shane go over for the try, Dan added the 2 for the conversion. The next PJF score came from Finlay Hawes who went over from a 5m scrum after a Chipstead player had been sent to the bin. The PJF scrum was working well with Luca Bellavia causing havoc in the Chipstead ranks with his charging runs and aggressive counter rucking. The next scoring addition came from Shane grabbing a brace of tries by going over from a Jack Kennedy offload. Dan added another two points and PJF were flying. Still time in the first half and the bonus point in the bag. Jack Kennedy was the next to score after some lovely work from Luke Couchman to release Jack Kennedy. Dan reliably adding the extra 2. Half time and the score was a remarkable 33-3 to PJF. Second half and it looked as though PJF were going to continue where they left off in the first half with Luca Berlini missing out with a pass that was adjudged forward. But shortly afterwards Iain Greenwood went in under the sticks with Dan making it 7 points. Credit to Chipstead, they didn't give up and managed to drive over themselves with the 2 points being added. This was followed by a remarkable score by Luke Couchman who seared through the heart of the Chipstead defence to go in under the posts and Dan kicked another 2. PJF then seemed to take their foot of the pedal and allowed Chipstead to score a further two converted tries to bring their tally to 24.The latter stages of the game were spoiled with a lot of chat from both sides. This probably reflected the loss of focus and concentration and the final minutes were the least entertaining of the game. Nevertheless PJF can be encouraged by the quality of some of their rugby which was quick flowing and at its finest, magnificent. PJF could have scored more had the final pass been a little better or slightly better timed, but for game one in a long league season it showed the exciting potential the side has. Nest week PJF welcome Freemens to the Pightle. Freemens will pose a totally different challenge so we look forward to seeing them.