Match Preview

After the joy of winning the playoff against Old Reigatian, Hove have been working hard in the pre-season and will be looking forward to their new challenge of London 1 South, as they welcome Chobham to the Recreaction Ground.

Last time we took on Chobham at the Rec was 11th April 2015. Hove were already relegated going into the game and only had pride to play for in their last home game of the season and the crowd was treated to a try fest with the game finishing 38-50 in Chobham's favour. Chobham would go on to finish 2nd in the league on 103 points and narrowly miss out on promotion. Games between the two clubs have traditionally been high-scoring affairs with combined points of 88, 107, 54 and 46 in their last four meetings. The Hove coaches will be hoping to keep the opposition scoreline much lower than these previous encounters on Saturday!

Hove have named a team that features a number of home-grown players with 13 of the 18-man squad playing youth rugby at Hove. The team features a number of returning players and we take a look at some of the new names on the team sheet.

Charlie Watts

After playing youth rugby at Hove, Charlie moved on to London Scottish before being joining Worthing Raiders. A new job has kept him away from the pitch for a bit over a year but he played a part in the victory against Eastbourne and he makes his 1st XV debut on Saturday.

Tyler Hooper

Tyler's in his first full season of senior rugby after finishing his U18s season last year, including representative honours with Sussex U18 and a few appearances in the 2nd XV.

George Davies

George played a few games in the 1st XV last season mainly in the cup and spent a good part of his time pulling the strings in the 2nd XV - at one point personally outscoring the bottom team in the table by himself! Still only 19 and with a long future in front of him, he's been handed a start for the first league game of the season and with it an opportunity to claim his spot for the season ahead.

Tom Lemehaute

After a couple of seasons focusing on his coaching and a young family, as well as a few games here and there for the 2nd XV, Tom is back in the first team squad after a sharp pre-season. With a ton of experience under his belt, the winger will be looking to add to his impressive tally of tries over the years for Hove.

Toby Ward

After finishing university, Toby came back to Hove and played for the 2nd XV last year but has been working hard in the off season. A naturally talented player who brings a bit of flair about him, including a move last year where he passed the ball over his own centres head, caught it and scored, confusing both opposition and his own centre in the process!