If you'd fancied a punt before the game on a winger scoring a hat-trick of tries you would probably have plumped for one of Combe's speed merchants. You'd have lost your money before half-time as it was Horsham's try machine Declan Nwachukwu who had touched down 3 times in what had threatened to be a match winning performance. That Westcombe Park only came good so close to the final whistle is a tribute not only to the league leaders' patience when facing a second home defeat with the clock ticking down but also to the severe test that Horsham put the Goddington Dene side through for the whole 80 minutes.

The Surrey side took the lead after 5 minutes when they freed danger man Nwachukwu down the left. He still had plenty to do but Combe's tackling wasn't up to its usual high standards and the winger was in behind the posts to make the conversion a formality. Westcombe Park managed to up the pressure with good midfield defence, winning the put in at a scrum after 12 minutes. The scrum was steady, the ball quick and Harrison had the space to launch his back line. First winger Bennett made ground and then passed to Medcraft in support who ran in from distance to cut the deficit to 2 points with the conversion being missed.

5 minutes later the home team took the lead. One Combe assault made inroads on the right and good recycling allowed the attack to switch left where centre Brad Saffrey ran in Combe's second score of the afternoon. The conversion attempt went awry. Combe went 15-7 ahead after 25 minutes. Their slickest handling of the afternoon saw new hooker Pierre Bournet in the mix and with the nous to get the ball to the support run of openside Sean Beckett to score wide left.

Horsham came right back at the Goddington Dene side and came close to scoring in the right corner but the attempted score was thwarted at the expense of a 5 metre scrum to the visitors. Quick scrum ball was used to good effect with Horsham getting the ball wide at pace for that man Nwachukwu to mark his second score. But Combe edged a bit further in front with less than 5 minutes of the half to go. Good hands from Saffrey put No 8 Piers Johnson into space to score Combe's bonus point try making it 20-12 for the home team.

But it was Nwachukwu who had the last word of the half, completing his hat-trick with only a couple of minutes to go, again exploiting some tired looking tackle attempts. With the conversion succcessful, Horsham were in touching distance at 20-17 as the halftime whistle blew.

Horsham came out for the second period with their confidence high. Despite making a hash of a clear try scoring opportunity shortly after the restart they levelled the scores on the 50 minute mark when Combe were judged to have infringed at scrum time and the penalty was kicked. A minute later Combe had their own penalty following a storming drive from Johnson but Harrison's kick pinged back from the upright.

The homeside had a fight on their hands as Horsham were proving adept at spoiling Combe's ball at the breakdown. Horsham halfbacks Lindfield and Johnson were also very much in control and good game management from them kept WPRFC on the back foot. The visitors took the lead with around 15 minutes of the match left. Combe failed to clear from their own 22 with a kick being charged down and, when a penalty for a high tackle was conceded in the next attack, the successful kick gave Horsham the lead at 23-20.

Combe dug deep to try to get the win. Beckett fed fellow back rower Johnson but he was held up. Combe then kept up the pressure going through an impressive number of phases in and around the Horsham 22 before replacement Hackett drove strongly to deliver quick ball for scrum half Lewis Headland to restore Combe's lead. Harrison slotted the conversion.

Home supporters' nerves jangled for the remaining 7 minutes and it was with no small measure of relief that the whistle blew to mark the end of a pulsating game. Combe remain at the top of the table but Horsham had given them a pretty big scare and, if truth be told, the result could have gone either way. Next week Combe travel to Cobham for a 2.30 kick off.

A big thank you to both teams and supporters for an impeccable observance of the minute's silence to mark the passing of long time Combe supporter Brian Middlemiss. He will be sadly missed by us all at Goddington Dene. Also thanks to today's mascots the under 8s who also played an exhibition game at half time and gave some vociferous support to the 1st XV.

Combe man of the match: Pierre Bournet