Weather and poor pitch conditions dictated that Sedgley had to travel to Chester for their first game of 2005.

Without an opportunity to train after Christmas and with the wind, pitch incline and the sun against them, Sedgley had an uphill struggle from the start.

Chester played good, simple, no-frills rugby and Sedgley struggled to stop them.

The first half saw Chester pull away 31- 0, with the Park playing their worst rugby of the season.

The ball was not getting out to the wings, forwards were not keeping up with play, silly mistakes abounded and the side appeared to lack any of its normal grit and determination.

The second half started as the first left off, with Chester pulling away to 36-0 before Sedgley seemed to wake up to the fact that they were gradually getting back into the game.

Spirited play from Alex French, Ben Crossley, Johnny McGahan and Jack Roper kept Sedgleys options open, while timely tackling from Joe Holt and Josh Horner prevented Chester from completely running away with the game.

Two excellent drives resulted in tries for Alex French, and a dash down the wing provided a first for Chris Drogan, two out of the three tries being successfully converted by Todd Keers and Jack Roper.

Although the second half score was 19 to 15 for Sedgley, it was too little too late to make a real impact on the day.

Kingsley Walker acquitted himself admirably in his first game for the Park.