Petersfield v Portsmouth, Saturday 16th September 2023, Counties 1 Hampshire
Match Report by Jim Dixon
Petersfield 57 – 12 Portsmouth
This season’s league started with an away trip up the A3 to Petersfield. Petersfield have managed to secure the services of two former National 2 players as player/coaches. Both were playing for Worthing last season who finished the league in 4th.place. Liam Perkins, No8, captain of Worthing last season, and Matt McClean, fullback last season and with one of the highest points tally’s in the league, Perkins also captained Hampshire last season.
5 minutes into the game and Petersfield opened the scoring with a converted try from a 5 metre line-out and catch and drive 7 – 0. Shortly after Sam Olie saved an almost certain try with an excellent tackle. As Petersfield recycled the ball more good defensive work by Portsmouth kept them out and eventually they won a penalty, enabling them to clear their lines. However the respite was short lived as Petersfield scored another converted try taking the score to 14 – 0. The Petersfield backs were now getting into the game and with plenty of pace they scored a try taking the score to 19 – 0. This was extended to 26 – 0 when they picked up a loose ball to score a converted try after about 20 minutes. Portsmouth were beginning to get more possession of their own but were let down by the final pass not going to hand. A cross kick to the touch line just missed the Portsmouth winger and from the resulting line-out Petersfield ran the ball up field to score a converted although a couple of the passes looked a bit suspect. 33 – 0. Another try took the score to 38 – 0. From the restart Petersfield No 8 caught the ball and showing his class made plenty of ground deep into the Portsmouth 22 before offloading to a supporting player who scored out wide taking the score to 43 – 0 as the half time whistle went.
From the start of the second half Portsmouth winger Brad Jewer gathered a loose ball and stepped his way through to the try line for Portsmouth to at last get on the score board. 43 – 5. Portsmouth were now attacking with a bit more energy and were managing to keep Petersfield in their own half for long periods of play but couldn’t make that break due to good defence from Petersfield . With about 15 minutes remaining Petersfield scored their first try of the second half with a rather rare breakout taking their lead to 50 – 5. Portsmouth were soon back on the attack and did manage to drive over the try line but were adjudged to have been held up. With the final minutes of the game closing in Petersfield scored their last try taking the score to 57 – 5. Portsmouth kept their efforts up and from a good cross kick by Gareth Davies the ball fell into second row Sam Foster’s hands as he was running full tilt. He sped through the defence to score close to the posts giving Gareth Davies an easier conversion and taking the final score to 57 – 12. In some ways this was a strange ending as everyone thought that after a the first half score Portsmouth would struggle to contain their opponents but as the half progressed it was Portsmouth who were having then better of the territory and when the final whistle went the second half score was only 14 – 12.
Petersfield’s ambition this season is to win this league as the coaches are on a 2 year contract. On this showing they are going to be there or thereabouts. Following today’s game Portsmouth will be without Sam Olie for a while with a knee injury and also Jordan Cracknell with a broken hand which is going to take a lot longer to mend.
Next week sees Portsmouth at home to Trojans who lost to Gosport & Fareham 32 – 30 so that looks as though it is going to be another hard game.
TEAM: PHIL GILLILAND, BRAD ATKINS, ANTHONY FOOKS.
SAM FOSTER, BRYN RAINFORD.
ELLIOTT WORRALL, LEE CHANDLER, AARON BEESLEY.
TOM SANDERSON, GARETH DAVIES.
BRAD JEWER, DAN GATES,SAM OLIE, CONNOR CHARLTON.
JOSH HOWELL WILLIAMS.
BENCH: LIAM AVIS, JORDAN CRACKNELL, LEO WALL.
Portsmouth v Basingstoke, Saturday 9th September 2023, Pre-season friendly
Match report by Jim Dixon
Portsmouth 17 – 22 Basingstoke
This was the last of 4 pre-season warm up games. Basingstoke were in the same league as Portsmouth last season but have now been relegated to Counties 2 Hampshire.
There were a few changes from last weeks loss to Brighton which was always the plan so that all squad players had a good run out prior to the season proper starting.
For the first 15-20 minutes neither side were able to establish any authority on the match. Eventually it was Stoke who opened the scoring with a try out wide to take a 0 – 5 lead. From a penalty Stoke were able to kick to touch and set up a catch and drive from the line out, scored their 2nd try to take a 0 – 12 lead. Portsmouth managed to close the gap with a try by Bryn Rainford after some good pressure, the score now 5 – 12. The conversion hit the upright and bounced back into the field of play. Stoke soon extended their lead with a try from a driving maul taking the score to 5 – 17 as the half time whistle went.
The second half saw Stoke straight back on the attack with a 3rd try taking the score to 5 – 22. It must be said tjhat better tackling could have prevented the score. A penalty in front of the posts gave Stoke a chance to increase their lead but the kick went wide. Portsmouth were now begining to put some moves together and that resulted in their 2nd try thanks to good work from Brad Jewer and finished off by Harry Drew, taking the score to 10 – 22. A 3rd try this time from Adam Parks-Dare who scored out wide following a period of pressure from Portsmouth. The score was now 17 – 22. Just 1 more score was needed to change the result but despite their best endeavours time got the better of them as the final whistle went giving a victory to the visitors.
It was a rather dis-jointed first half in which there seemed a lack of cohesion from Portsmouth, fortunately that got a bit better in the second half but there were too many missed or half hearted tackles on show. Having said that it was a game played under extreme heat which made handling rather difficult with very sweaty hands. The Ref made sure that there were plenty of water breaks during the game.
Next week sees the start of the League campaign with the 1’s away to Petersfield in what promises to be a pretty hard fought game.
TEAM: FOOKS, ATKINS, PARKS-DARE.
CRACKNELL, PARRY,
WORRALL, RAINFORD, BEESLEY.
DREW, CHANDLER,
CHARLTON, GATES, OLIE, JEWER.
HOWELL-WILLIAMS.
BENCH: HENWOOD, BOSHER, DALZIEL, MORGAN.
Portsmouth Squad v United Services Squad
Match Report – Preseason Friendly Friday 18th August – by Jim Dixon
Portsmouth Squad v United Services Squad under floodlights
Portsmouth 24 – 7 United services
Portsmouth got their first pre-season ‘friendly’ underway at Rugby Camp, under floodlights. U.S opened the scoring with a converted try but Portsmouth soon hit back with a couple of tries, one of which was converted to lead 12 – 7 at the end of the first session. The second session got underway with both teams changing their personnel. Portsmouth were soon back on the scoreboard with an unconverted try to lead 17 – 7. This was followed with a converted try to take the lead to 24 – 7. The game then came to a rather unexpected end when following a U.S attack in which the ball carrier was tackled, the two players were embroiled in a bit of ‘handbags’ and one of the Portsmouth players got hit on the head. That started a reaction from both teams and also some of the U.S. players who were on the touch line watching the game. The referee managed to get things under control but not before the U.S. coach had taken his players off the field. No one was really sure if the game was over or not as the opposition then came back onto the pitch and it appeared as if the game would re-start. However after a talk between the Ref. and a player from each team he blew his whistle and got the 2 squads to shake hands, with the match ending with a 24 – 7 win to the home side. There were several new players on view for Portsmouth and the whole squad acquitted themselves well with the new players showing good touches
Portsmouth finished the session with a game between their own players for the remaining 20 minutes or so.
Next week sees Portsmouth take on Hampshire Police on Thursday evening, again under floodlights, at Rugby Camp KO 1930
100-Club
The winners of the June draw were: Mark Witcher – £50 and Jacqui Bailey – £30.
To sign up and be included in the draw for July and have a chance of winning the £50 first prize or £30 second prize, contact Pete Smout on 07760 400 690 or email petesmout@hotmail.com for more information.
The cost is £3 per month or an annual one-off payment of £36.
Carol Moulding – RIP
It is with great sadness that Portsmouth Rugby Club inform you of the death of Carol Moulding, wife of Derek Moulding who played for us in the 70’s and early 80’s, who died this morning after a long illnes
Portsmouth vs North Dorset, Papa Johns Community Counties 1 Plate Competition Round 1, Saturday 1st April 2023
Portsmouth 15 – 17 North Dorset
Match Report by Jim Dixon
With all the recent rain it was only the Vets pitch that was deemed playable, and that was only after a concerted effort by Club Members who forked the puddled areas to get rid of standing water. Despite heavy rain before the warm up began it remained dry and breezy for the remainder of the afternoon.
The surface was, however, very muddy and it was obviously going to be a day for the forwards.
With both teams making changes to their usual starting XV’s it was Portsmouth that got proceedings underway, playing with a steady breeze behind them.
They went straight into attack mode and camped themselves deep in the Dorset half. Connor Charlton made good ground after catching a Dorset clearance kick. His pass to Brad Jewer saw the winger have a good run before passing to the supporting Fooks who kept the momentum going and eventually the ball found its way to Ollie Simpson who crashed over for the first score of the match, the conversion missed and Portsmouth found themselves leading 5 – 0. Portsmouth continued to keep Dorset pinned in their half but were unable to convert pressure to points. It was North Dorset who scored the next try through their forwards who were a pretty big unit. The conversion missed and the score was now 5 a-piece. A scoring chance was missed when Charlton made a good break, but possibly an earlier pass could have resulted in a score, but he delayed just a bit too long. North Dorset got penalised for obstructing a Portsmouth player. Morgan lined up the kick and dissected the posts giving Portsmouth an 8 – 5 lead. Shortly after this Portsmouth then further extended their lead following a good break by Morgan who then passed to Sam Olie who, despite the muddy conditions raced away to score their second try. Morgan was again on target and the lead was now 15-5 and the half time whistle went shortly after.
The second half started with Adam Parks making a much welcomed return to the first team following a nasty leg injury 2 seasons ago. He came on to the back row in place of Aaron Cox. Where Portsmouth were the more dominant team in the first half it was Dorset who seemed to suddenly realised that their pack could be more effective and with the following breeze that had now increased slightly in strength, began to exert pressure on the Portsmouth pack, causing the home side all sorts of problems. There was one of those rare moments in rugby when the Portsmouth scrum half was penalised for a crooked put in which gave Dorset the opportunity to build on their earlier score and they scored an unconverted try taking the score to 15-10. Dorset were now in a dominant mood and from a scrum in the Portsmouth 22 their No.7 broke clear to run through almost unapposed to score under the posts. The conversion gave them a 15-17 lead. The second half was a rather dour affair with both sides tiring due to the conditions underfoot. Portsmouth spent most of the time defending their try line as they found it difficult to get into the Dorset half. It was only in the last 15-20 minutes that they began to get some sort of parity at scrum time and managed to get into the opposition half with the Portsmouth pack being a bit more robust. Dorset’s main strength was in their pack and in conditions as they were, a driving maul is almost impossible to stop legally with the ground being so soft. Despite the late rally by Portsmouth they were unable to get that winning score and the final whistle went with victory to the visitors 15-17.
A disappointing result for Portsmouth,who despite the conditions had run with the ball in hand well in the first half, there were some very tired bodies coming of the pitch. On the plus side Sam Foster put in a good performance, stealing the odd line out ball and making some good runs. Brad Atkins and Anthony Fooks also put in a hard shift and Adam Parks certainly made is second half appearance count with some powerful runs, always looking after the ball in the tackle. There is no game next week as the next match for Portsmouth is to be determined with the draw for the Challenge Cup still to be made. That match is scheduled to be played on Saturday 15th. April.
TEAM: JOBY WALSH, BRAD ATKINS, ANTHONY FOOKS.
SAM FOSTER, TOBY CRIPPS,
AARON COX, JACOB GREGOIRE, OLLIE SIMPSON.(C)
HARRY DREW, TOMMY HARE,
BRAD JEWER, SIMON MORGAN, SAM OLIE,CONNOR CHARLTON.
MATT HIGGINS.
BENCH: TOM SMITH, ADAM PARKS,. ALI MACDONALD.
End of season awards 2022-2023
Photos Courtesy of Hannah Smith
Portsmouth vs Gosport & Fareham, Saturday 18th March 2023. Counties Hampshire 1
Portsmouth 14- 38 Gosport & Fareham
Match report by Jim Dixon
This was the final League match for this season, a game that should have been played on Saturday 17th.December but was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
And what a contrast it was with a warm sun on a mild and pleasant day.
Portsmouth kicked off and went straight onto the attack, keeping Gosport pinned in their 22. Portsmouth set up a good driving maul and eventually Brad Atkins broke away from the maul to score out wide. Gareth Davies was on target with the touch line conversion and they went into a 7-0 lead with only a few minutes on the clock. That score seemed to shake Gosport into action and they gradually worked their way down field. It was only good defensive work that kept them out. Portsmouth managed to work their way towards the half way line but a penalty against them gave Gosport the opportunity to kick for touch giving them a line out just outside the Portsmouth 5 metre line. Eventually the pressure told and they scored their first try which was converted, taking the score to 7 -7. With both sides vying for territory it became a rather disjointed game with both sides giving away penalties which stopped any flow to the game.
Indeed at also became a rather feisty match which as half time approached resulted in a yellow card for Greg Hoolihan. From the resultant penalty Gosport were able to cross for their second, unconverted try giving them a 7-12 lead and the half time whistle went shortly after.
From the re-start Gosport attacked the Portsmouth try line but again desperate defence kept them out. However Gosport kept up the attack and soon added to their score with an unconverted try, extending their lead to 7-17. From the re-start Bryn Rainford caught the ball and from his own 22 managed to almost reach the Gosport 22 before he was stopped. From a loose ball collected by Max Clarke he was able to kick across the pitch and Sam Olie was on hand to gather and touch down close to the touch line. Davies was again on target with the difficult conversion and the score was now 14-17. From the re-start Portsmouth were awarded a scrum in their 22 but Gosport put in a huge drive and managed to push the Portsmouth scrum back and as the ball squirted out it was quickly pounced on by the Gosport wing forward who brushed aside the defending players and scored out wide. With the conversion the score was now 14-24. This was followed shortly after with another try following some rather loose defending by Portsmouth. The score was now 14-31. With the game now getting rather more fractious a scuffle ensued which resulted in a red card for a Gosport player. The final score also came from Gosport ,again following some rather weak Portsmouth tackling, which took the final score to 14-38. Aaron Beesley was then yellow carded and the final whistle went shortly after.
This was a very disappointing result form Portsmouth, following their 3 last consecutive bonus point wins but yet again penalties and poor defending let them down. The result sees Portsmouth finish the League in 7th place on 44. Trojans are also on 44 points in 8th place but Portsmouth have a better win/loss record. Trojans beat Basingstoke 55-0. Winchester disposed of Eastleigh 0-78 and Andover beat Havant 2’s 17-14. Jersey finish top of the league with Winchester 2nd. Alton and Basingstoke finished 11th. and 12th.
The new Cup Competition is due next with the draw due to be announced on Monday and the first match due in April.
TEAM:FINN PARRY, BRAD ATKINS, ANTHONY FOOKS.
MAX CLARKE(C) BRYN RAINFORD.
OLLIE SIMPSON, GREG HOOLIHAN, AARON BEESLEY,
TOM DREW, GARETH DAVIES,
DAN GATES, JORDAN HUNTER, SAM OLIE, ALFIE WIGLEY.
TIM ROLLETT.
BENCH: IAN FRENCH, ELLIOTT WORRALL, SAM FOSTER.
Basingstoke vs Portsmouth, Saturday 11th March 2023, Counties Hampshire 1 League
Basingstoke 41- 43 Portsmouth
Match report by Jim Dixon
Firstly I must apologise for my error in last weeks’ match report on the Alton fixture. I mistakenly reported that Tim Rollett had been taken to Hospital with a suspected broken ankle where-as it was actually Josh Howell-Williams and it has since been reported that he has sustained ligament damage and not a broken ankle. My apologies to all concerned
Today’s game is the penultimate fixture of the season for League matches with the delayed fixture against Gosport & Fareham to be played at Rugby Camp next Saturday with a 3.00.p.m.K.O. This will be followed by the new Cup Competition, start date and fixtures to be announced.
This was a rather unusual game with the lead changing 12 times throughout the match, Lots of penalties for both sides made it a rather disjointed match but it was, never the less exciting despite everything. Basingstoke always seem to raise their game when we meet at their ground and certainly their very large Fijian Army centre and their Number 8, caused Portsmouth plenty of problems as did former Basingstoke 1st XV and County player Simon Appleby until he was firstly yellow carded and then, towards the end of the match, red carded for a high tackle.
Basingstoke opened the scoring with a try from their Fijian Army centre giving them a 5 -0 lead. A penalty against ‘Stoke gave Portsmouth their first opportunity for a score but good defence kept them out but eventually the ball was spun wide and the final pass was taken by Tim Rollett Who scored out wide. The conversion missed and the scores were level at 5 apiece. From a good turn over by Portsmouth the ball was spun wide and it was left to Sam Olie to race away from the defenders to score their 2nd.try and with Morgan’s conversion on- target they took the lead 5- 12. Basingstoke were soon back with a converted try to bring the scores level again at 12-12. From a lineout ‘Stoke took clean ball and scored their 3rd.try close to the posts giving them back the lead at 19-12.. They were then able to increase that lead with their 4th.try,unconverted, to 24-12. Following a period of pressure from Portsmouth their efforts were finally rewarded with an unconverted try scored by Simon Morgan closing the gap to 24-17.
The second half started with both sides trying to get the upper hand but it was ‘Stoke who scored first when they broke through the middle to score under the posts. With the conversion true they extended their lead to 31-17. That was their 4th. bonus point try. After a series of penalties against ‘Stoike, Portsmouth were able to work their way upfield and eventually Sam Olie crossed for his second and Portsmouth’s 4th.bonus point try. \The conversion missed and the score now stood at 31-22. ‘Stoke soon hit back with a score of their own thus extending their lead to 36-22 as the conversion missed. Basingstoke were then reduced to 14 when their No.7 was yellow carded. Shortly after this Portsmouth scored yet again through Greg Hoolihan and with the conversion good the score as now 36-29. Portsmouth then set up a good handling move with the ball going across the field and back again with Morgan taking the final pass to score close to the posts. Gareth Davies took over the kicking duties and with his conversion the score was now 36-36. From the re-start Portsmouth caught the ball deep in their 22 but the clearance kick was charged down by ‘Stoke who were up very quickly and they managed to gather and score an unconverted try thus regaining the lead 41-36. Portsmouth were not done yet and from a penalty that gave them a lineout close to the ‘Stoke try line they set up a clean catch and drive which saw Ollie Simpson crash over. Davies was again on target and they now held a slender lead 41-43 with only a few minutes left. A penalty against ‘Stoke saw their No.7 red carded for a high tackle. From that penalty Portsmouth kicked for touch and from that lineout they won good ball which was delivered to Tom Sanderson who kicked into touch and the ref’s final whistle went with a hard fought victory to Portsmouth by 41-43. ‘Basingstoke’s performance in this game certainly deceived their basement position in the league although they always seem to be able to raise their game when we play at their ground. Their big Fijian centre and the No.8 caused plenty of problems for Portsmouth as did their No.7 Simon Appleby before he was carded. Also Portsmouth’s first up tackling was way off today giving ‘Stoke the opportunity to get deep into the Portsmouth half. It was however pleasing to get the third consecutive bonus point win. And they did show character to come back from a 31-17 deficit to close out a narrow win. This was a rather strange match with a total of 84 points scored and penalties aplenty given out which rather disrupted the flow of the game. Tommy Hare showed glimpses of his pace at full back and Tom Sanderson had yet another impressive game at scrum half. but the whole squad did so well in the fight back in the last 20 minutes.. Special mention must also be made of Prop Ian French who yet again stepped into the breech with some regulars being unavailable He again played the full 80 minutes and that is no mean feat as he is into his forties. This is about the 3rd.or 4th time this season he has been called upon, so well done Frenchy!
Next week sees the final League match of the season with the re-arranged fixture against Gosport & Fareham. They are just 1 place above Portsmouth in the League on 54 points. They drew against Bournemouth 2’s 14- 14. Portsmouth’s victory sees them stay in 7th.place on 44 points. Trojans are 8th.on 39 points having beaten Alton 5-77. Elsewhere Jersey beat Winchester 23-13 so remain top and undefeated. Winchester are 2nd. with Havant 2’s in third place..
Next weeks kick-off is 2:30 p.m.
TEAM: IAN FRENCH, BRAD ATKINS, FINN PARRY.
MAX CLARKE(C) RYAN BOSHER.
OLLIE SIMPSON, GREG HOOLIHAN AARON BEESLEY,
TOM SANDERSON, GARETH DAVIES.
SAM OLIE, LEE CHANDLER, SIMON MORGAN, TIM ROLLETT.
TOMMY HARE.
BENCH: JOBY WALSH, BEN GORDON.
Alton vs Portsmouth, Saturday 4th March 2023, Counties 1 Hampshire
Match report by Jim Dixon
Alton 21 – 24 Portsmouth
With two last minute late changes to the original selection, Aaron Beesley and Greg Jansen, Portsmouth moved Ollie Simpson from No.6 to No.8 and Lee Chandler came on to the bench in place of Jansen. Max Clarke was moved from the second row to No.6 and Bryn Rainford moved off the bench to No.5. Ben Gordon came onto the bench.
Portsmouth were hoping to carry on from last week’s success but the game never really sparked into life. Whether it was the sloping pitch or some other factor was not clear but this proved to be a rather fractious affair throughout the game. Alton got the match underway and a Portsmouth knock-on gave Alton a penalty kick resulting in a 5 metre line-out. A catch and drive by Alton was thwarted by Portsmouth as they defended well. Alton kept the pressure on them for quite a while but Portsmouth managed to keep them out. Portsmouth then managed to get their hands on the ball and took play into the opposition half but just could not get that final scoring pass away. Eventually Alton got the ball back and set up a good attack which saw their left winger cross wide out. The conversion missed and the took a 5 – 0 lead. This was followed shortly after by a good catch and drive by Portsmouth from a line-out and they crossed for a try by Max Clarke. Simon Morgan was on target and they now held a narrow 5- 7 lead, A penalty against Portsmouth saw Alton re-take the lead 8-7. Shortly after this Portsmouth were reduced to 14 when full back Tim Rollett was yellow carded for a deliberate slap down of the ball. From the resultant line-out Portsmouth managed to steal the ball and cleared play into the Alton half. Alton gathered the kick but the defender was not quick enough and he was tackled by two Portsmouth players who were up very speedily. Another penalty against Alton saw Morgan kick for touch. This was followed by another penalty against Alton and Morgan’s kick gave them a 5 metre line-out. Ollie Simpson held the ball at the back of the maul and crossed for a try which Morgan converted giving them a 8-14 lead. This was short-lived however when Alton hit back with a well taken try as their player ran through the defence to score their second try. The conversion was good and the score now stood at 15-14. Tim Rollett then came back on so they were now back to a full compliment. More problems for Portsmouth followed shortly after when winger Josh Howell-Williams made good ground before being tackled which resulted in a serious injury to his ankle. He had to be taken from the pitch and was subsequently taken to Hospital with a suspected broken ankle. Lee Chandler came on and he went to No.13 with Sam Olie moving from there to the wing. The half time whistle went with Alton holding a slender 15-14 lead.
Portsmouth got the second half underway and Alton were quickly onto the attack, threatening the Portsmouth try line, but a brilliant interception by Chandler saw Portsmouth take play into the Alton 22. A good driving maul by Portsmouth came to nothing when they were penalised for a neck roll. This was followed by another penalty against Portsmouth in front of their own posts which saw Alton take the 3 points on offer with the score now 18-14. Undaunted Portsmouth were soon back on the attack and some good handling saw the ball moved across the field and back again to the supporting Ollie Simpson who crashed through for his second score, The conversion missed and the score was now 18-19. Finn Parry was then replaced by Joby Walsh. Another penalty to Alton saw them increase the lead to 21-19. Portsmouth’s scrum half Tom Sanderson had been having another good game and he made a blind side break of 15-20 metres before he was finally caught but at least he took play away from the try line. Brad Atkins was then replaced by Ben Gordon at hooker. Another penalty against Alton saw Portsmouth gain a 5 metre line-out and following a clean take they set up another catch and drive which saw them cross for their 4th bonus point try score by Ollie Simpson, his 3rd of the day. The conversion missed but they now held a slender 21-24 lead. More good work from the Portsmouth scrum half saw him harass his opposite number into a knock-on. Portsmouth were now putting more pressure on their opponents as the game became more fractious with a bit of a scuffle breaking out in which Portsmouth were awarded a penalty but this was reversed by the referee as he took exception to comments being banded about. The final whistle went following an Alton move which saw the final pass go into touch and Portsmouth deserved winners 21-24. It is quite a while since they have recorded back to back bonus point wins and their celebrations were richly deserved. This was a rather scrappy game with Portsmouth unable to really stamp a hold as they had last week. Although Ollie Simpson had a good game with 3 tries he was pipped to Man of the Match by Tom Sanderson who showed great speed throughout the match with his all round contribution that just sees him gets on with his job.
This win sees Portsmouth stay in 7th.place on 39 points, Bournemouth 2nds. are 8th. on 34 points. Other results form Saturdays fixtures are Havant 2nds. 118-5 against Basingstoke, Gosport & Fareham losing to Andover 22-32, Bournemouth 2nds losing to Trojans 33-29.
Next week Portsmouth are away to Basingstoke and we underestimate them at our peril as we know from previous seasons!!.
TEAM: ANTHONY FOOKS, BRAD ATKINS, FINN PARRY,
BRYN RAINFORD, SAM FOSTER,
MAX CLARKE (C), GREG HOOLIHAN, OLLIE SIMPSON,,
TOM SANDERSON, GARETH DAVIES,
JOSH HOWELL-WILLIAMS, SIMON MORGAN, SAM OLIE, CONNOR CHARLTON,
TIM ROLLETT,
BENCH: JOBY WALSH, LEE CHANDLER, BEN GORDON.