Weekend Round-Up
It was a first defeat in five matches for the first fifteen who gave their all at Ellingham & Ringwood but went down bravely 21-14 despite being ahead at half time with a narrow four point lead. On Sunday The Colts were convincing winners in their Hampshire Bowl tie against Gosport and Fareham, cruising into the next round with a fine 33-10 victory at Rugby Camp. Well done to all the lads and the coaches who go into the next round and are having a great season. The Valkyries second xv hosted Eastleigh ladies in National Championship 3 SE(S) where they had plenty of ball in the first half and ran in eight tries, five of them scored by centre Anne-Marie Tilley. Other tries came from second row Laura Gazzard, Prop Sian Owen and winger Luna Lewis. Sandy Newsham was named forward of the match for an absolutely storming display…
Under 16s Hampshire Vase Final
By Fred French Portsmouth v Basingstoke at Winchester RFC. In the first ten minutes possession and position were in Portsmouths favour, but final passes didn’t go to hand and Basingstoke were very strong defensively. They capitalised on a Portsmouth error when one of the Basingstoke backs broke the line and ran from deep in their own half to score under the posts and converted. Portsmouth replied ten minutes later with a penalty in front of the posts kicked by Reggie D, then just before half-time Reggie scored under the posts on a pick and go and converted. Half time 10-7. The second half was Portsmouth’s game. Possession, going forward, in support of each other, but Basingstoke still put up a solid defence, disrupting play tackling and rucking. Tries came from George O with a pick and dive converted by Reggie, a Josh W run in from the wing converted by…
Ellingham & Ringwood vs Portsmouth, Saturday 16th March 2024
Portsmouth travelled to Ellingham & Ringwood for this return fixture having won 13-0 in their first encounter. With only a couple of changes from last week, prop Phill Gilliland was unavailable as was Brad Jewer who played fullback. Before the game got underway teams lined up for a minutes silence for an Ellingham Club Member who passed away suddenly last week. Portsmouth got the game underway and for a while play was contained between the 10 metre lines with neither side able to get any real control. Portsmouth then had a kick upfield resulting from a penalty against Ellingham. A good 5 metre touch was found but the ball was lost at the lineout enabling Ellingham to take play back downfield. A poor pass to Aarron Beesley could not be gathered as the ball was knocked on. Ellingham were now putting pressure on the Portsmouth try line and only some…
News Round Up
So with the rain once again taking it’s toll on the pitches at Rugby Camp all the Mens teams played away on Saturday. The first xv had a trip to Littlehampton where they played Bognor in Counties Division 1. Bognors pitches like ours were under water. The 1sts produced another outstanding performance winning by 28 points to 5 for a fourth successive win. Sam Olie was voted man of the match. The Casuals played Romsey on their 4G pitch but despite a spirited fightback they lost 48-25. The thirds went to New Milton who opted to host the game at the last minute, the home side winning 35-0. On to this coming weekend, the firsts are at home to Andover and they will hope to keep the winning run going. With the Casuals at home to Christchurch it’s an exciting double bill at Rugby Camp, both 1500 kick offs. No…
Gosport & Fareham vs Portsmouth, Saturday 24th February 2024
By Jim Dixon Portsmouth travelled to Gosport for this re-arranged fixture from 9th.December due to a waterlogged pitch. Elliott Worrell made a welcome return in the 2nd row after a lengthy injury spell and Stuart Davies had to withdraw due to illness and his place was taken by Dan Gates in the centre. Gosport got the game underway and from a Gareth Davies clearance they took play deep into the Portsmouth half. A kick through by Gosport nearly resulted in a try but fortunately quick cover from Portsmouth saw them touch down first. Portsmouth were unable to make inroads up field and eventually Gosport crossed for the first try of the match giving them a 5 – 0 lead with about 10 minutes gone. Gosport had a chance to increase their lead with a penalty but the kick went wide. With both sides vying for territory gain Portsmouth winger Leo…
Weekend Round Up 17/18 February
by Simon Newsham We had a clean sweep throughout the senior club this weekend, victories for all three mens teams on Saturday and The Valkyries second fifteen on Sunday who went to Havant winning in convincing style. The first team put 62 points on their hosts Bournemouth ii who managed just a solitary try in response. Our Man of the match was Stewart Davies with a brace of tries on his return. The Casuals just edged it in a tight and feisty affair at home to Aldershot and Fleet, 15-12 the final score in that one. The thirds were also at home, this time with visitors Petersfield who are always tough opponents but the Vandals were impressive winners with a 35-12 scoreline. Moving onto Sunday and for once Havant was the place to be. The Valkyries second xv put on an absolutely brilliant display to take the points with a…
Bournemouth II vs Portsmouth, Saturday 17th February 2024
by Jim Dixon Portsmouth travelled on one of their longer journeys to take on Bournemouth 2’s on a rather damp and miserable day. Portsmouth got the game underway and managed to give away 6 penalties in as many minutes which rather frustrated the Coaches and the visiting spectators. Eventually however they got things under better control and soon started to dominate, especially in the forwards where they drove the opposition back on several occasions. The lineouts were also proving a good source of gaining extra ball with Liam Glazebrook stealing several balls on the Bournemouth throw. Bournemouth had a chance of taking the lead with a penalty kick from just inside the Portsmouth 10 metre line but the kick went wide. It wasn’t long before Portsmouth got on the score sheet with a try by Aaron Beesley who made one of his typical runs through the opposition. With Gareth Davies…
Weekend Round-Up
It was a very busy Saturday at Rugby Camp with the visit of a coachload of Welshmen from the Rhonnda, whilst the firsts took on New Milton with a commanding performance, winning 47-5. See Jim Dixons match report. There was also the Rugby Against Cancer Bottomless Brunch in the clubhouse which was well supported on RAC sock takeover week. The seconds went away to Alresford coming away with the points in a narrow 14-15 victory. The 3rd XV went down by 35 to 20 against United Services and I assume the Vets won by the customary 76-0 against Abercwmboi who provided the soundtrack in the bar during Wales narrow defeat to Scotland. Sunday saw our U14s take on Alton in the cup semi final, they weathered the early pressure from the visitors to bounce back winning 24-17 in a highly physical, attritional match against skillful and determined opposition. As coach…
Portsmouth vs New Milton, Saturday 3rd February 2024
Portsmouth welcomed New Milton to Rugby Camp and a rather cold breezy day. New Milton won the toss and elected to play with the breeze behind them. Prior to the game starting the two reams lined up in front of the Clubhouse to give a minutes applause in memory of Kevin Ricketts who sadly passed away last week. Portsmouth kicked off and soon set up a good attacking move that involved forwards and backs alike, taking the ball from one side of the pitch to the other. Eventually it was hooker Brad Atkins who took the final pass and scored close to the posts. Gareth Davies was on target and they took a 7-0 lead. The game became a bit bogged down with neither side being able to make ground. In fact there was a short period when Portsmouth had no possession and spent time just on defence. Prop Adam…
Weekend Round Up
After being in front at Havant the 1st fifteen eventually succumbed to Havant’s pace in the backs, going down right at the end narrowly by 31 points to 28. This was a fine performance by the lads who outplayed their local rivals for much of the game. The Casuals did the reverse at Rugby Camp against Havant 3s with a late score to win 27-26. On Sunday the Valkyries 2nd xv travelled to East Dorset where they won by forty points to nil, although the RFU website shows 0-50 so a couple of the Valks are trying to add the spare tries to their tally. Colts Win The League Our Colts are league champions for the second successive season. A 52-12 victory against Bognor gave them the title. Massive congratulations to all the lads and the coaching staff. We can look forward to a bright future with this squad of…