Medway RFC marked the start of their new Regional 2 South East campaign with an entertaining 36-29 victory over Horsham at Priestfields.

The home side made the perfect start to the season despite falling behind early when Horsham crossed from a catch-and-drive following a line-out, with the visitors adding the conversion.

Medway responded through John Sipawa. After establishing dominance in the scrum, Max Bullock moved the ball quickly and Sipawa finished the move, although the conversion was missed.

Horsham hit back with tries from a midfield break and another score after punishing some loose defending to regain the initiative.

However, Medway’s attacking game began to click. A sustained spell of pressure saw the home side move into a 19-17 lead before Pete Cole completed an impressive move that swept from one side of the field to the other. With Horsham reduced to 14 men by a yellow card, Jamie Ford added the conversion to extend the advantage.
Medway went into the break with four tries on the board and a 26-17 lead after an entertaining first half.

The visitors applied pressure after the restart and missed an early penalty opportunity as the game settled into a more even contest.

A drinks break midway through the second half did little to disrupt Medway’s momentum. Ford kicked a penalty to stretch the lead to 29-17 before Horsham produced a length-of-the-field try to close the gap to seven points.
The decisive score arrived after what was described as “five minutes of beauty” from the home side. Following phase after phase of possession, Josh Knight finished a superb team move, with Ford converting to give Medway a 36-22 advantage.

A huge congratulations to Tom Wickham, Tom Jones and Steve Mcnamara on their First XV debut.

Horsham refused to go away and scored again in the closing stages, reducing the deficit to seven points, but Medway held firm to secure a deserved opening-day win and begin the season with maximum points.