An away trip to Ditchling on a bright but chilly winter's afternoon was an opportunity for the ‘Seas’ to carry their solid home form on the road, where they faced an opposition who are always unpredictable, and a different group of players who were comfortably dispatched earlier in the season.

The surface was wet and easily turned over and played its part in affecting the tempo of the game, and following an arm wrestle of an opening period, midway through the first half, Seaford finally managed to impose themselves on their resilient hosts. The slight shift in game plan, to keep the ball alive and avoid taking contact brought an opportunity for the forwards to show they’re not only capable of smashing the front door in, but also in executing offloads and tip-ons before contact. The backs played their part by hitting effective lines and makingfrequentline breaks, to make the halftime scoreline of 12 - 0 to Seaford a fair reflection of the half.

The second half began as the first had finished, with both backs and forwards combining well to find soft shoulders, and use the squads improving level of dynamic skills to begin to open up the hosts more frequently. Though the heavy pitch had its impact on the fatigue of the players, Seaford continued to pressure the home team with and without the ball and limited Ditchling to just a couple of entries into their own 22 area. This defensive intensity and understanding was a theme carried over from the Uckfield and Hove games, where Seaford have conceded only 2 tries in the last 3 games.

A further 2 additional tries were added to the scoreboard following a period of sustained pressure, 1 by the backs and 1 by the forwards. A few changes to the personnel was required as the game drew to a close where, to their credit, Ditchling remained competitive and gave nothing away for free, but Seaford were good value for their win, and a win on the road at that! This will provide a huge psychological boost ahead of some exciting home and away matches coming up where Seaford will look forward with no fear and want to capitalise on their fantastic momentum.

Ditchling 0 Seaford 27

Passion | Respect | Family