Bonus Point on the Road

Horsham visited promotion favourites Camberley on the back of a disappointing loss away to Bournemouth the previous week. The squad were under no illusion that the fixture would prove to be a very real challenge and so it proved with Camberley getting off to a flying start with a well taken try within the first minute. Horsham had once again allowed a strong team to establish a good lead with Camberley scoring 4 tries within the first 30 minutes and opening up a 26-6 lead with Horsham's only points coming via Oli Chennell's boot.

At this point, some of the earlier signs of potential starting to bear fruit with Horsham's physicality beginning to match that of Camberley and between 32minutes and halftime, Horsham came storming back with tries scored by Declan Nwachukwu and Adam Clarkson, one of which was converted alongside a penalty scored with the final kick before the break to bring the halftime score to 26-21.

Unfortunately that start of the second half matched that of the 1st half where errors were punished as Camberley began to stretch away and play with increasing confidence as a result. Camberley scored another 5 in the second half before Horsham managed to wrest back a modicum of control in the final 10 minutes and went all out to get a bonus point. This they did with great tries scored by Declan and Mike Watts on the back of great ball retention in the opposition 22m. The whistle was blown with the final score 61-35 and whilst this was a heavy defeat for the team, it does not tell the whole story.

In scoring 35 points, Horsham became the highest points scorers at Camberley so far this season, and the first team to achieve a bonus point for tries scored at their home. Alongside this, 3 converted tries were conceded on the back of some over ambitious play in our own 22m which granted key possession against a scrambling defence. Had these errors been removed, the score line would have been more reflective of the competitive nature of the game whereby Horsham's forwards stepped up well to the manful task of containing the Camberley scrum and lineout drive. Although disappointed in the eventual score line, a bonus point on the road will no doubt prove to be extremely valuable as the season progresses.