Chichester today set their sights on breaking the ten-year stranglehold of the big two and lifting the Sussex Trophy.

Chi, fourth favourites for the Greene King-sponsored event if current league positions are an accurate guide, are through to the last eight after a 43-5 win over East Grinstead.

Now they want to give the 35-year-old event a real shot in the arm by proving you do not have to be Worthing or Haywards Heath to win it.

They have come close in recent years, losing two successive finals to Worthing and Haywards Heath, the latter after extra-time.

Skipper Richard Johnson, who kicked-off Saturday's scoring from full back, said: "The Sussex Trophy is still a major competition for us, especially after coming so close to winning it.

"It's definitely on the players' agenda to get this one under our belts.

"We've had a difficult season. We counted 15 of our players unavailable for some reason but hopefully we are starting to play the style we want.

"With so many changes we've not really been able to play as a team. Winning our own set-piece ball has been an issue but we got that together in the second half."

Ed Buller, Ed Armah and Matt Chandler also scored tries and the forwards were left laying claim to a couple of collective pushovers.

Three different clubs won the county knockout between 1993 and 1995 but since then it has been a closed shop with Haywards Heath successful eight times, seven of them consecutive, and Worthing twice.

Bognor's Karl Flynn said: "Going on past results the only chance the rest of us have got to get to a final if those two draw each other.

"The way they have progressed you almost wonder whether they should be allowed in the competition, although I'm not saying they should be left out. You want to play the best teams."

Bognor went through in style though they admitted they were flattered by a 51-0 margin over youthful Crowborough.

Wings Andy Shipp and Ian Myhill led the way with three and two tries respectively.

Crawley, too, were dealt no favours by their final score as Eastbourne won 31-22 at Willoughby Fields.

Danny Craven (2), Matt Grenfell and Jamie Baldwin scored Eastbourne's tries but the real story was Jon Lord's try and three conversions in his first senior game for two seasons.

Lewes wing Scott Patto also had a happy return with three tries in a 53-7 win at Horsham on his comeback from injury.

Mark Griffiths scored on his first start in the centre and Sean Tayor, Bob Barton and Mike Rust were also among the tries.

Horsham were not as physically strong as the teams Lewes usually meet but that presented its own problems.

Skipper Dave Hemsley was generally pleased but admitted: "We wanted to move the ball on too many times and didn't control the game as we should have done."

Brighton, the first ever winners of the event, also went through with a 29-12 win at lower-league Uckfield.