Mike Caspall writes…
Portsmouth Casuals hosted Gosport 2nds this weekend at rugby camp and lost a hard fought match 8 – 13. We were slow to get going, came under pressure in the scrum and gave away too many penalties, Gosport capitalized with 2 penalties and converted try. A dogged Pompey pack regained composure and threatened the Gosport line, a much changed Gosport side led 13-0 at the turn. Some stern word from captain Danny Harris saw a different team take the field in the second half – Joe Slater strong supporting run crossed the line, followed by a successful penalty meant it was all to play for, 5pts in the game with 15 on the clock, Portsmouth camped in the opposition 22 for much of the second half, twice over the line but not deemed a try and unable to use the width saw the game end 8 – 13 much to Gosport’s relief. A hard fought contest team dug deep to get back into the game and lots of positives in the second half to take to forward for the season.