Tributes were paid to Adam Henderson prior to the game on Saturday, a period of silent reflection was observed and during this time I couldn't help but think of the car journeys I shared with Hendo travelling to places such as Amersham, Beaconsfield, Witney, Maidenhead and others for away Stags matches. These journeys were laced with a lot of laughter. He was a top bloke and there are no better words that those of former team mates. Looking back through Stags team sheets, Hendo packed down in the Stags front row with GRS on a number of occasions and as GRS says, "there's always a special bond formed between the front row and Adam was truly a part of this special group. I was lucky enough to join him in the row several times. He played hard but always with a smile on his face. An inspiration. When I heard the news of Adam's illness I knew his mentality would be to face it with strength and bravery. Still a club man he came to training and supported the Colts. His rugby legacy will continue through Fred as he breaks into the seniors. He was a brilliant mate who will be missed." The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Adam's family at this very sad time.

What is certain is that Hendo would have been cheering loudly from the side on Saturday, supporting Blues as he always did, and what a day, Blues putting in what was arguably one of their best performances of the season and finishing in eighth position, securing their place in Regional 2 South Central for a further season. Relegation would have had a knock on to Stags who might themselves been forced into a lower league. There were many outstanding moments on Saturday none more so than the opening ten minutes, with Chichester starting like a steam train but Blues refusing to let them in for a try in spite of being under enormous pressure. A couple of Chichester tries in this opening period and who knows what might have happened. And what a day for debutant Beau Power. He must have been feeling a few nerves prior to the game but if he did, they certainly weren't on show on the field. He had a good game and should be pleased with the way he coped with the pressure of playing in a relegation game on debut. Those opening minutes were characterised by strong Blues tackling and one occasion Jamie Futcher made a try saving tackle a couple of metres out from Blues try line. There were also some strong runs out defence by Harry Edwards and Jonny Lees and after the initial onslaught, Blues slowly fought their way into the game and began securing some territory. Deciding on player of the match is sometimes never easy and whilst Harry Isaac was deservedly awarded this, captain Dan Thorne would not have been far behind. How often do we see teams pass up kickable penalties by going for attacking lineouts. Not a bit of it on the weekend. Dan, with all his experience, knew how important it was to keep building a score and Chichester were punished on four occasions in the first half by giving away penalties, all which were converted by Dan to build a healthy half time lead of 12-0. On the occasions Chichester attacked they found it hard going to gain any real territory. A couple of their big men broke through the initial defence a few times, only to be hauled down by some good scrambling. When the visitors did move the ball wide Blues looked comfortable and gain line success was hard to come by for Chichester.

For spectators a sunny day is just great to watch rugby. For full backs, sun, particularly low lying as it sets, is sometimes not their friend and some of Alec McCormack's high spiral kicks in the second half were very difficult for the Chichester defence to deal with. On one occasion a dropped high kick by Alec resulted in the visitors being put under a lot of pressure, conceding a penalty which Dan Thorne converted to take the score to 15-0 to Blues. Anyone who has played rugby will say that the chip, chipping away, penalty after penalty being kicked is demoralising and dispiriting and Chichester were beginning to feel the pressure as the game seemed to be slowly slipping away from them and twenty minutes into the half, the demoralisation grew even stronger when Blues scored the first try of the match. Working the ball towards the left touchline and with little room to play with, Jacob Checksfield gave a delightful final pass to Sean Siggerman who showed great balance to stay in the field of play to go over for the try. Twenty nil, twenty minutes to play, Blues defence looking solid and whilst it's never over until it's over, home supporters were beginning to think about another season in this league. And when things are going for a team they sometimes get a bit of luck. As Beau Power went in for a tackle the ball hit his head and bounced forward. One powerful scrum and a well timed pass by Dan Thorne and Harry Isaac went over for Blues second try of the game. The successful conversion made the score 27-0 and now with ten minutes remaining, it was going to take a monumental effort from Chichester and a monumental imploding from Blues for the visitors to threaten a win. What little doubt there was about the outcome of the match was laid to rest five minutes later when Will Osborne emerged from the middle of a maul claiming Blues third try. With the match gone, Chichester had their best period of the game since the first ten minutes and scored a try of their own after battering away at Blues line for a few minutes. Two Chichester errors led almost immediately to Blues bonus point try. Firstly a kick direct to touch resulted in a Blues attacking lineout just outside the Chichester 22 and yet another penalty given away resulted in Harry Edwards powering over for a well deserved try. The final whistle blew shortly afterwards and Blues had won 37-5.

Thanks as always to lots of people who ensure match day goes off well. Special mention to Blues Manager Kevin Rhoads who has decided to step down. Thanks Kev. Along with Sarah you both did a great job this season and we shall all be keeping a close eye on the progress of your lad Ollie. Thanks also to the hundreds of supporters who have turned up week after week and who have kept the faith. Hopefully you all had an enjoyable final Saturday of the season. Thanks to the many sponsors whose generosity cannot be overstated. Thanks to today's referee, Christopher Bartlett. And finally, thanks to the coaching staff and players who put it all out there every week representing the club to the best of their abilities. To everyone, have a great summer and enjoy what's left of the elite season and what a thrill, a Lions tour to savour. Hopefully see you in September.

Commiserations to Chichester, who are now relegated to Counties 1. Their visiting committee were very complimentary at the end of the game and congratulated us on our win. Great magnanimity and at the pre match lunch their chair said that whatever the outcome of the match, both clubs would be the same the next day and the next, clubs that are rooted in their local community and he's absolutely right of course. Rooted to the extent that when we lose one of our own it hurts us all.

Rest in peace Adam.