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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Kevin Ricketts
It is with great sadness we have to report the death of former club man and referee Kevin Ricketts after a long illness. Kevin was a greatly respected and much loved member of PRFC, he was a fine referee not just in Hampshire but he reached the very top of the tree as a First Class ref, the equivalent of the Premiership today. Born in Newport, Wales he settled down south and taught for many years at Priory School before retirement. Kevin for many years wrote weekly match reports for the Portsmouth News sports pages covering local rugby, cricket and football. His coverage of our club was always a little more partisan than other local clubs which showed his great affection for PRFC. As an appreciation of his life and love of the club there will be a minutes silence before the games on Saturday and Sunday. Kevin leaves his…