DESPITE being well in the game at the halfway point, it was Chobham who came away with the 34-19 win against the Eagles in terrible conditions at Browns Lane.
The match saw three key players in Mark Allen, Olie Rees and John Squire all returning to the first XV but a match against the team three places above was always going to be hard for the Eagles.
The game started in remarkable fashion when, from the kick-off, Richard Smith found a gap in the visitors' defence to run through for the opening score, though Brian Collins was unable to add the extra two points.
After a sustained period of pressure in the Eagles' half, the visitors produced their first try of the game, and were able to add the conversion to make it 7-5.
The Eagles defended well but inevitably conceded some defensive penalties, one of which Chobham kicked to the five-metre line.
The pressure finally told on the Eagles backline, after a series of drives from the Chobham forwards resulted in a try, although they were unable to go further ahead after a missed conversion.
The Eagles regrouped and some clever play by Brian Collins opened up the Chobham defence, with Ed Ralph following up to provide the short pop pass to the arriving Tony Penny to score, with Collins adding the extras to go in all square at half time.
The second half saw an early try from Chobham, after a scrummage near the Eagles line provided a platform for their player to score following an exchange of passes with the scrum half, the extras being added to make the score 19-12.
From the restart, the Eagles earned a penalty for blocking, punted to touch by Collins but from the lineout, the Eagles produced a knock on resulting in a turnover for the away side.
The Eagles were made to rue this opportunity, as Chobham added two further tries shortly after, though both resulted in wide conversions to give the visitors a 17-point lead.
The home side did respond with a try from John Squire as he completed a neat midfield play orchestrated by Fee, though Collins was wide with the conversion to make the score 29-17.
Late in the game, Chobham made the match safe with a further try from close range to make it 34-17, but again the conversion was missed as the visitors took home the points.
Effingham: Allen, Quinn, Maycock, Ellis, Stocker, Thornton, Cave, Rees, Losardo, Collins, Penny, Ralph, Squire, Smith (R), Fee. Replacements, Diprose, Cox, Foster.
