Brighton II v Portsmouth, Pre-season Friendly, Sat 2nd September 2023
Match Report by Jim Dixon
Portsmouth travelled to Brighton for their penultimate pre-season warm up match. This was going to be their toughest fixture to date, especially as it transpired that Brighton had 5 or 6 players who had been hoping to take part in their 1st.XV match against Bracknell which was being played at Brighton.
Portsmouth kicked off and were soon putting Brighton under pressure. The forwards got a good drive going towards the Brighton line but the ref deemed the ball to have been held up. Shortly after, a quickly taken tapped penalty by Portsmouth saw the ball spun wide and Connor Charlton crossed for the first try of the match. Tom Sanderson was on target with the conversion and Portsmouth led 0 – 7 with about 20 minutes gone. Portsmouth has a chance to increase the lead with a penalty but the kick drifted wide. Another try chance went begging for the visitors with a knock-on just short of the try line. After a bit of pressure by Brighton they scored their first try which was converted bringing the scores level at 7 a’piece. This try seemed to waken Brighton up and they started to put pressure on Portsmouth and scored their second converted try just before half time giving them the lead 14- 7.
The second half started with Brighton very much on the attack and soon added to their first half score with a converted try taking the score to 21 – 7. This was followed by another converted try taking the score to 28 – 7. Portsmouth were now tiring after the hard work they put into the first half and Brighton were able to take advantage of that and 2 more converted tries took the score to 42 – 7. To their credit though Portsmouth didn’t give up on their efforts and they were finally rewarded from a catch and drive at a line out just inside the Brighton 22.which resulted in Bradley Atkins crossing the try line.. The conversion missed and the final whistle went with the result a 42- 12 win to Brighton. Brighton were obviously helped by having some 1stXV fringe players on hand and also by having a much larger squad so could replace players more frequently. The effort of the Portsmouth pack in particular was good to see as they were by no means disgraced. There was also good running in the backs which was good to see. They did leave 2 or 3 tries out there which would have made the final score a bit more respectable but the coaches have plenty to look forward to. The Portsmouth half backs took a bit of time to gel but that improved as the game went on. The whole squad got good game time and all aquitted them selves well.
Next week sees the last pre-season match at home to Basingstoke.
TEAM: FOOKS, ATKINS, PARKS-DARE.
CRIPPS, CLARKE.
WORRALL, REECE-MARTIN. SIMPSON (C).
SANDERSON, CHANDLER.
FIELD, WALL, OLIE, CHARLTON.
HOWELL WILLIAMS.
BENCH : PARRY. SPENCER. LEYTON. HIGSON.
Portsmouth Squad vs Hampshire Police Squad, Thursday 24th August 2023
Portsmouth 50 – 7 Hampshire Police
Match Report by Jim Dixon
Portsmouth got two- XV’s out for this training match. 1 squad was mainly 2nd. & 3rd.XV players and the other squad was mainly 1st.XV and some 2nd.XV players. This was the second pre-season game played under floodlights. Hampshire Police have recently resurrected their team and this was their 1st outing for 8 years. Several of their players are playing for other local sides. The sessions were split into 4 x 20 min. periods with the 2nds. & 3rds. playing first.
Hampshire Police opened the scoring almost from the kick off when they spun the ball across their backs and their centre shot through to score, the conversion was successful and they led 0 – 7. Portsmouth were soon able to hit back with a try from a driving maul taking the score to 5 – 7. The first session ended shortly after.
The second session started with the same teams on both sides and Portsmouth scored an early unconverted try thus taking the lead 10 – 7. This was followed shortly after by another Portsmouth try, this time converted, and increased their lead to 17 – 7. The second session ended on the same score.
The 3rd.session started with Portsmouth changing their teams over but Hampshire Police only had enough for half their team to be replaced.
From the re-start Portsmouth were able to set up a driving maul which resulted in a converted try taking their lead to 24 – 7. and the 3rd.session ended shortly after. The final session got underway and Portsmouth soon built on their lead with an unconverted try 29 – 7. A good cross kick by Portsmouth was caught by a back and he stepped through the defence to score a converted try, taking the score to 36 – 7. Another Portsmouth try saw them extend their lead to 43 – 7. The final try was scored under the posts so the conversion was on target and the score was now 50 – 7. The full time whistle went as the conversion went over.
Hampshire Police stuck gamely to their task but Portsmouth had just a bit too much power, pace and fitness for them. Also most of their team played the 80 minutes whilst our players only played 40 minutes. However this was a much better performance than last week with some good moves being tried.
Next week will see a big step up as Portsmouth are travelling to Brighton for the 3rd. pre-season match which will be played on Saturday with a 3.00 p.m. K.O..Brighton play in a higher league than Portsmouth.so this will be a good test as to where they are.
Portsmouth Xv v United Services Portsmouth
Pre-season friendly
KO 1945
Portsmouth vs Winchester, Saturday 28th January 2023, Counties Hampshire 1 League
Portsmouth 20 – 47 Winchester
Match Report by Jim Dixon
At long last rugby is back!
After the Christmas break and 3 games postponed due to either waterlogged pitches or frozen grounds we are hopefully back to normal.
Portsmouth got the game underway and Winchester gathered and kicked down field. Ollie Simpson caught the ball and made ground before passing to Jashan Solanki who made inroads into the Opposition half. A penalty against Winchester saw Portsmouth kick to touch. From the lineout Portsmouth spun the ball wide but lost possession enabling Winchester to take the ball back into the Portsmouth half. Play was then stopped as flyhalf Lee Chandler who had been caught in a double tackle, was lying prone on the ground with the Portsmouth physio attending. Eventually he was able to get up and was helped off the pitch. Cam McGuigan came on to fullback with Solanki moving to No. 10. Shortly after this Portsmouth then lost Bryn Rainford with a shoulder injury. His place was taken by Aaron Beesley. All this inside the first 5 minutes. Max Clarke moved from the back row to the second row. After a period of good defence with Portsmouth defending their try line, Winchester managed to move the ball to the backs and they scored near the touch line. The try was converted and they led 0 – 7 after about 10 minutes. It was then the turn of Portsmouth to go on the attack and eventually Solanki crossed for their first try which Simon Morgan converted taking the score to 7 apiece. Winchester were soon back on the attack and Portsmouth then lost Aaron Beesley to a yellow card. Shortly after this prop Rhys Bowen had to leave the field with back spasms. Finn Parry who is normally a prop but was playing second row today moved to the front row and with Rainford coming back on he went to the second row. All this inside the first 25 minutes. Winchester then scored their 2nd try which was not converted to retake the lead 7 – 12 with just inder 30 minutes played. A penalty against Portsmouth for offside saw Winchester increase their lead to 7 – 15. This was followed by a penalty to Portsmouth from just close to the 10 metre line which Morgan again converted closing the gap to 10 – 15 and the half time whistle went shortly after,
The second half started with Rainford having to leave the field with more shoulder problems. Brad Atkins took his place. Winchester were getting a bit more dominant with their backs causing Portsmouth problems and they soon added to their score with an unconverted try taking the score 10 – 20. Another penalty to Portsmouth again saw Morgan convert his kick from just inside the halfway line to take the score to 13 – 20. A poor kick from the home side saw Winchester stretch their lead to 13 – 25 with their 4th. unconverted try. With Portsmouth defending heroically pressure told in the end as Winchester added to their score with another unconverted try taking the score to 13 – 30. With the game in the last quarter Winchester were now in full flow and with Portsmouth tiring after some good and prolonged defensive work Winchester scored another unconverted try making the score 13 – 35. A further unconverted try took the score to 13 – 40. A good run by Aaron Beesley saw him take the ball from his 22 to the opposition 22 before he was stopped by a good tackle. Portsmouth were still able to amount their own attack and they managed to work the ball upfield with Greg Hoolihan crossing for their 3rd. try. Morgan’s conversion was good and the score now stood at 20 – 40. Winchester had the final say with a converted try close to the posts taking the score to 20 – 47. In the closing minutes Portsmouth desperately tried to get a least a loosing bonus point 4th.try but to no avail as the final whistle went. Despite the score line Portsmouth showed some good attacking movements and harried and defended well but the early injuries disrupted the flow somewhat. That is in no way a critisism of the bench players who all played their part well. A fall off in intensity due to some heavy defending and a lack of fitness in the final 20 minutes were contributary factors. Next week should have been a rest week but they now have the re-arranged fixture against Andover to play. Portsmouth will no doubt be hoping that todays injuries will be cleared up in time for this fixture. Portmouth2’s suffered a similar fate losing away to Winchester 2’s 43 – 5 but Portsmouth 3’s recorded another good win against Eastleigh 3’s 40 – 14. Portsmouth still remain in 7th. place in the league table on 29 points. Jersey are still top and unbeaten after beating Alton 84 – 0. Winchester are still in second place having only lost twice this season.
TEAM: RHYS BOWEN, GREG HOOLIHAN, RYAN MOORE, BRYN RAINFORD, FINN PARRY, MAX CLARKE(C) OLIE BOWLES, OLLIE SIMPSON. TOM SANDERSON, LEE CHANDLER. SAM OLIE, SIMON MORGAN, DUNCAN STEED, JASHAN SOLANKI.
BENCH BRAD ATKINS, AARON BEESLEY, CAM McGUIGAN.
Portsmouth vs Trojans, Counties Hampshire 1, Saturday 3rd December 2022
Match Report by Jim Dixon
Portsmouth 13 – 12 Trojans
Portsmouth’s day started with a Celebration Lunch with 100 guests in honour of former player and Head Coach Roy Harris on the occasion of his 90th birthday. The guests were made up of Club Members and Roy’s family. Roy came from Cornwall in the 60’s to take up a temporary job with Radio Rentals for 3 weeks and he has been here ever since!
There was a more sombre moment when President Nigel Morgan spoke of Vets player and Junior Coach, John Warbrick who after coaching his age group on Sunday morning, went home and tragically collapsed and passed away. He was only 42 years old. Before today’s game started Portsmouth Vets and their opponents Portsmouth University, together with members of the Junior Club and Portsmouth and Trojans 1st XV’s lined up to give a minutes applause in John’s memory.
If Portsmouth’s last encounter with Trojans in September was anything to go by, (a 10 – 11 win to Portsmouth) then this was going to be of a similar nature and so it proved to be.
Portsmouth got proceedings underway with just 1 change to the selected side. Anthony Fooks had to withdraw from the team as a cut on his shin had not healed, so his place was taken by Greg Hoolihan.
After the usual exchanges in the opening minutes Portsmouth gained a lineout close to the Trojans 22. However they managed to loose the ball and were penalised for tackling a player without the ball. Then followed a rather bizarre moment when one minute a Portsmouth player had the ball and the next when Trojans ripped the ball out and ran from just inside the 22 to score almost unapposed. The conversion was successful and they led 0 – 7 with about 5 minutes on the clock. More exchanges between the teams continued as both tried to gain territory. Portsmouth then lost flyhalf Lee Chandler to a shoulder injury. He was replaced by Jordan Hunter, making a welcome return to Portsmouth after a period with Petersfield. Hunter went into the centre with Morgan moving to No.10. Portsmouth were then able to string a move together with a good run by Hunter and they found themselves in the Trojans 22 for the first time in the match with about 30 minutes gone. From a good lineout Portsmouth set up a catch and drive about 12 metres out and crossed for their first try scored by Greg Hoolihan, Morgan was on target with the conversion and the scores were now level at 7 a-piece. Shortly after Portsmouth made a change in the front row with Khatib coming off to be replaced by Rhys Bowen. Portsmouth were able to set up good attacking moves but were often spoiled by either loosing possession or knocking the ball on. The half time whistle went with the scores still level at 7 all.
The second half started and Portsmouth now had the cold easterly wind at their backs. Portsmouth made a change at half time with Hoolihan coming off to be replaced by Olly Bowles. Portsmouth were having to defend well to keep Trojans at bay which they managed fairly well. However from a lineout which Trojans took quickly they managed to break the deadlock with a try wide out. The conversion missed and Trojans now led 7 – 12. A good attack by Portsmouth came to nothing when the final pass failed to find the receiver. Portsmouth then made a couple of changes with hooker Brad Atkins coming of to be replaced by Hoolihan and khatib coming back on to replace Rhys Bowen who had taken a knock to his thigh. After some Portsmouth pressure they did manage to cross the line but were deemed to have been held up. A yellow card to Trojans saw Portsmouth awarded a penalty which Morgan converted taking the score to 10 – 11 with about 14 minutes left. Portsmouth were taking advantage of Trojans being down to 14 but just couldn’t turn it into points, One such moment came when Portsmouth won good ball and with nothing much on Morgan attempted a drop goal but his kick went wide. With penalties being awarded to both sides it was Portsmouth who were awarded a kick right on half way and to the left of the posts. Morgan took a good look and said it was worthing going for. He lined up his kick and it Went between the uprights but only 1 touch judge put up his flag. Everyone was now looking to the referee for his decision and without any hesitation put his arm up to signal the conversion and the final whistle went with another narrow victory to Portsmouth 13 – 12 much to the jubilation of Portsmouth players and spectators. After the match a photo of the ball going over the cross bar proved the decision to be correct.
If Portsmouth could cut out the penalties and keep hold of the ball at crucial times they could have secured a more convincing win. This win sees them move back to 6th. in the league table on 28 points. Jersey still remain top and unbeaten after victory over Havant 2’s 8 – 40. Next weeks opponents are Petersfield who beat Basingstoke 18 – 20. They are in 10th.position on 18 points.
TEAM: YEHIA KHATIB, BRAD ATKINS, RYAN MOORE.
BRYN RAINFORD, SAM FOSTER.
MAX CLARKE(C). GREG HOOLIHAN, OLLIE SIMPSON.
TOM SANDERSON, LEE CHANDLER.
SAM OLIE, SIMON MORGAN, DAN GATES, DUNCAN STEED.
JASHAN SOLANKI.
BENCH: RHYS BOWEN, OLLY BOWLES, JORDAN HUNTER.
Jon Warbrick – RIP
Portsmouth Rugby Club is sad to announce the death of Jon Warbrick on Sunday 27th November.
Apart from being the smiliest man in the club on a Sunday morning he also coached the Juniors and played for the Vets
The Junior section are going to provide a guard of honour in his memory before the Senior games on Saturday 3rd December and instead of a minutes silence there will be a minutes clapping before the 2 pm KO
Our thoughts are with his family Amy, Finlay and Amelia and friends at this time
Portsmouth vs Alton, Counties Hampshire 1, Sat 26th Nov 2023
PRFC 15 – 19 Alton
Match Report by Jim Dixon
Portsmouth welcomed Alton 1st XV to Camp for the first time for a few years. With a rather cold stiff breeze blowing the day started with prop Rhys Bowen attaining his 100th.game for Portsmouth 1st.XV. His original position was No.8 but he decided a couple of seasons ago to have a go at loose head prop in an effort to prolong his rugby life! A presentation was made to him by Club President Nigel Morgan in the Clubhouse following the game. Current No.8 Ollie Simpson has reached 20 1st XV games and was also included in the presentation.
Portsmouth playing into the stiff breeze, started the match and the game see-sawed between the 22’s for a while. Alton were beginning to put some good moves together and eventually they managed to score out wide with the conversion missing. The score was 0 – 5 after about 12 minutes. Shortly after this Portsmouth lost wing forward Elliott Worrall with an injury to his wrist. His place was taken by Sam Foster. Only some good defensive work from Portsmouth kept Alton at bay but a yellow card for Simon Morgan certainly didn’t help their cause. Alton then managed to create an overlap and scored under the posts. the conversion was successful and they now led 0 – 12 on about 25 minutes. Certainly the Alton play wasn’t reflecting their league position but it transpired that they had several players returning who hadn’t been available at the start of the season. It was then Alton’s turn to loose a player to a yellow card and Portsmouth certainly made the most of it following a 5 metre line out. They set up a catch and drive which was finished off by No.8 Ollie Simpson touching down out wide. Gareth Davies was on target with a tricky kick and the score was now 7 – 12. Portsmouth then had to make another change when Lee Chandler had to leave the field due to feeling unwell. His place was taken by Connor Charlton who went to the wing with Dan Gates moving from there to the centre. Alton were then aided by a lucky bounce of the ball which was kicked towards the Portsmouth try line but bounced away from a defender and into the arms of an Alton player who touched down under the posts. The conversion was good and gap was now 7 – 19. The half time whistle went shortly after.
Alton got the second half underway and shortly after Portsmouth set up a very good handling move following a kick ahead by Davies. Portsmouth spun the ball wide and the move was eventually finished off by Sam Foster. with the kick just missing. The score was now 12 – 19. Ollie Simpson came off shortly after to be replaced at No.8 by Aaron Beesley. Duncan Steed then set up a good attack, showing plenty of pace but a desperate tackle took him into touch. Portsmouth kept up the pressure and were awarded a penalty which Simon Morgan was able to convert taking the score to 15 – 19. Portsmouth kept up the pressure but just couldn’t get through the Alton defence with again Duncan Steed showing good speed. Another promising Portsmouth move came to nothing when they were penalised for not releasing the ball after the tackle. Yet another opportunity was lost when the ball got knocked on by Portsmouth and the final whistle went with a win for the visitors 15 – 19. Portsmouth did manage a losing bonus point. This loss sees Portsmouth slip down 1 place to 7th. on 24 points with Alton still in bottom position on 12 points.
Next week sees Portsmouth at home again against Trojans who lost to Bournemouth 2nds. 18 – 10 Trojans are in 8th. place on 19 points. Jersey remain top and undefeated after bearing Eastleigh 66 – 7. Portsmouth still have the dubious honour of scoring the most points against them in their 21 – 57 loss.
Don’t forget that next weeks matches will start at 2.00 p.m.
Fareham Heathens vs Portsmouth 2nd Xv, Saturday 26th November 2022, Counties 3 Hampshire
Fareham Heathens 12 – 44 Portsmouth 2nd Xv
Match Report by Zac Eyley
Captain Zac Eyley reports:
‘The 2s travelled the short journey to Fareham Heathens this week, marking the halfway point in the league. With no win so far this season a lot of pressure was on to make this a game to remember, and boy was it! An excellent display of physical dominance and set piece execution from the pack set a brilliant platform for the backs to run off of.
It did not take long to get across the whitewash, and it didn’t stop all game with Brad Jewer, Will Dalziel and Scott Weatherhead all getting a try each. But the dream combination of a Tommy Hare cross field kick and Sam Olie’s sexy footwork was the highlight of the day with three cracking tries for Sam. The forwards had their say too with a Matt Hoban special smashing through most of the home team and Ian Skinner fell over the line at the back of a rampaging maul. Two conversions from TH10 were the only points from the boot today, but as always, the magic man at 10 set the pace of attack and used his liquid rugby to unleash his team mates superbly.
Joby Walsh was denied a try from close range as Carl Darnley was penalised for pushing one of the Heathens defenders over off the ball. Portsmouth needs to improve the penalty count as Will Dalziel picked up a yellow for not rolling away at the base of the ruck following a number of team infringements at the breakdown. Matt Hoban also took a 10-minute time out for a high tackle. Man of the Match was awarded to Scott Weatherhead for scoring on his return after a long spell out through injury. DOTD went to Jas Solanki who turned up at the Heathen’s club house for a social after receiving DOTD for his 1st team performance. Fareham also made him DOTD for the same reasons.
Portsmouth 2s travel away to Guernsey next week hoping to keep the gravy train going (calm down Ticker it’s not a real train!)’
Havant 2nds vs Portsmouth, County League Hampshire 1, Friday 11th November 2022
Match Report by Jim Dixon
Portsmouth had a request from Havant 2’s to play their scheduled match for Saturday, on Friday evening under floodlights. The coaches put the question to the players and they readily agreed. The last time we played under floodlights was a few seasons ago at Burnaby Road against U.S Portsmouth in a Cup match which we won. The atmosphere that night was really good with a decent crowd present. There was hope for a similar occasion. There was just 1 change from the original selection with loose head prop Khatib, crying off having been knocked off his bike. Shaken up but not hurt. His place as taken by Rhys Bowen who as originally on the bench. He in turn was replaced by Greg Hoolihan.
Portsmouth got the game underway and Havant kicked back which saw Portsmouth run the ball back. Eventually the ball went into touch giving Havant a line out. Portsmouth managed to steal the ball and Morgan kicked the ball into touch near the half way line.. Again Portsmouth managed to steal the ball and a kick found touch close to the Havant 22. With yet another line out steal the ball found its way to full back Solanki who set off on a good run which eventually saw him tackled into touch. The ensuing line out was again stolen by Portsmouth. Havant managed to get their hands on the ball and set up an attack deep into the Portsmouth half. Desperate defensive work by Portsmouth kept them out for a while but eventually pressure told and they scored close to the posts. The try was converted and they led 7 – 0. Portsmouth were by now getting used to the pace of the artificial pitch and with ideal running conditions and hardly any breeze they began to set up some good handling in the backs. From one such move a try should have been scored but the final pass failed to find its target and went into touch. Portsmouth kept Havant in their 22 for a period helped by a string of penalties. Another good scoring chance went begging when the final pass should have resulted in a score but again the final pass failed to find its target. Havant soon hit back and with a good 3’s movement they managed to stretch the Portsmouth defence to score near to the touch line. The conversion missed and they now led 12 – 0. Another good Portsmouth attack came to nothing with a knock on and the half time whistle went..
The second half started with Dan Gates coming on to replace Howell-Williams on the wing. Portsmouth got onto the score board when Havant were penalised for handling on the ground and Morgan converted his kick taking the score to 12 – 3. Shortly after that Portsmouth won another kickable penalty and Morgan was again on target with his kick, taking the score to 12 -6. Havant where soon back on the attack and only some good defensive work by Portsmouth followed by a good turn over enabled them to kick the ball into touch thus relieving the pressure. Following a period of pressure from Havant they managed a good long kick down field which was chased by a Havant player with Portsmouth in hot pursuit. As the ball bounced into the ingoal area the Portsmouth player then pushed the Havant player off the ball resulting in the Ref. awarding a penalty try and a yellow card to the Portsmouth player. This took the score to 19 – 6. Shortly after that a 5 metre scrum to Havant saw them drive over the try line for another score this time unconverted but taking the score to 24 – 6. Havant then managed another score from a good 3’s move which saw them create and overlap and the scored out wide. The conversion missed and the now led 29 – 6. A kick from Havant was caught by Solanki who ran the ball back from deep in his half with a weaving run into the Havant 22. Havant were then penalised for slapping the ball down from a pass by Portsmouth. A kick to touch from the resultant penalty saw Portsmouth spin the ball wide and eventually Sam Foster crossed for their first try. Morgan converted and the score was now 29 – 13. Portsmouth then seemed to up their game and a massive drive from the pack saw them drive Havant back many metres. Despite their efforts they could not add to their score line and the final whistle went with an victory to Havant 29 – 13.
Unfortunately Portsmouth where architects of their own downfall because they were unable to keep hold of the ball in 3 or 4 scoring opportunities. Whilst it took them 10 to 15 minutes to adjust to the pace of the game on an artificial pitch, once they had then the backs showed some good handling and running with the ball. Overall it was an exciting game with the match flowing end to end. The atmosphere was great as was the crowd with both sets of supporters making a lot of noise. It was all helped no doubt by a very still, dry night allowing some very good rugby being played by both teams.
This result sees \Havant move up to 4th in the League table on 36 points with Portsmouth staying in 6th. place on 23 points. On Saturday leaders Jersey beat Gosport and Fareham 75 – 5. to retain top spot. Eastleigh move up to second with an 87 – 10 win over Petersfield.
There are no games next week so Portsmouth’s next fixture is on Saturday 26th, November at home to Alton. They beat Bournemouth 2’s 17 – 12. on Saturday.
