The Brighton Chairman quipped that they felt at home thanks to Combe fans dressing up as deckchairs referring to the home supporters’ iconic blazers. That hospitality didn’t extend to the pitch where Combe ran out clear winners scoring 5 tries to 2 adding to the carnival atmosphere for the last home match of the season.

It took just 4 minutes for Combe to get the scoreboard ticking when Aidan Devane took advantage of a fumble from Brighton in their 22 to tap the ball over the touchline to touch down. 10 minutes later Brighton took the lead. They had built up a bit of pressure in the red zone and after several controlled phases struck hard to score under the posts making the conversion relatively simple.

Combe went back on the attack, and it took only 3 minutes to regain the lead through the boot of Cameron Hancock when Brighton infringed on the edge of their 22. That lead was extended to 15-7 when the joint players of the match combined to score. First a barnstorming 40 metre run from captain Nick Cook made huge inroads and centre KK Orelaja was on hand to take the pass to score close to the posts. Hancock added the conversion.

With 2 minutes of the half left, whistle Combe got their third try. This time it was Orelaja who was the provider, striding through the Brighton cover to feed fellow centre Sam Rhodes to score wide on the left. Brighton were by no means going to give up without firing a few shots of their own and struck with the last play of the half. From a scrum on Combe’s 10 metre line, they launched their backs and the ball moved down the line to outflank the Combe defence making the score 20-12 to Westcombe Park.

Hancock’s boot extended Combe’s lead 10 minutes into the second period when the visitors were pinged when under heavy pressure at the scrum. Brighton were finding it increasingly difficult to get into Combe territory through a combination of the home side’s scrum dominance and having a strongish wind in their faces.

Cook scored Combe’s bonus point try on 67 minutes after a quick tap penalty was spun wide and then 5 minutes later lock Josh Smith completed the try scoring diving over to score after a line out catch and drive. Hancock kicked the conversion to make the final score 35-12 to Combe.

So, a good win to end Combe’s home fixtures for season 21/22. Coupled with a convincing win for the Vets against Sevenoaks in the Kent Cup Final it made for a successful weekend for Westcombe Park.