Results

Counties 1 Hampshire Results

Sat 14 Feb 2026

Portsmouth RFC

28 – 26

(HT 21-12)

Guernsey RFC Ltd

Portsmouth RFC

Substitutes

Guernsey RFC Ltd

  • 15
    Smith
  • 14
    Creber
  • 13
    Gladstone
  • 12
    McGann
  • 11
    Buensoz
  • 10
    Veillard
  • 9
    Whitfield
  • 1
    Bray
  • 2
    Burger
  • 3
    Smith
  • 4
    Smith
  • 5
    Smith
  • 6
    Grigg
  • 7
    Le Prevost
  • 8
    Croft

Substitutes

  • 16
    Watkin
  • 17
    Morrison
  • 18
    Simpson

Match Report

What a lovely change in the weather, sunny with a slight breeze blowing down the pitch and the pitch in reasonable condition considering the rain we have had recently. After a narrow 1 point victory away to Guernsey, Portsmouth knew that this was not going to be an easy game and so it proved.

Guernsey kicked off with the breeze behind them. For the first 10 minutes or so Portsmouth were kept in their half, partly due to the Guernsey kicking but also their pack which was probably the biggest and most aggressive they had come up against this season. On one of their first forays into the Guernsey half, Fooks had managed to break through the lineout and steal the ball, taking play up to the 22. However a knock on in the tackle gave Guernsey a scrum and they pushed Portsmouth back as they cleared their lines. However Portsmouth were soon back on the attack and a good run from Eban Skinner saw him make good ground before offloading to Matt Higgins who was up in support, he made several yards before drawing a defender then passing to Sam Olie who was also up in support and he ran clear to score close to the posts, Higgins was on target with the conversion and Portsmouth led 7-0 on 15 minutes.

10 minutes later Portsmouth were defending in their 22 when the ball was passed to centre Leo Wall after full back Jay Chatham had dived on a loose ball preventing an almost certain try. Side stepping and handing off would be tacklers, Wall broke out of the 22 and raced towards the try line and although he had support he was on no mood to let go of the ball as he just carried on to score near the posts. Higgins was on target again and the lead was now 14-0. Their third try came from Brad Jewer who had caught the ball and moved up-field at a rate of knots before passing the Fooks who was up in support. He, in turn, made ground before passing the Jay Chatham who raced away to score close to the posts, Higgins was again on target and they now led 21-0.

Guernsey then opened their scoring account with a try resulting from a lineout about 10 metres from the try line. They set up a powerful catch and drive to score near to the posts with a converted try taking the score to 21-7. This was followed by another 5 metre lineout, a catch and drive, and their second score reducing the lead to 21-12 as the half time whistle went.

Portsmouth got the second half underway and were soon on the attack. The ball went across the pitch through several pairs of hands and eventually it was Brad Jewer on the wing who took the final pass. From seeming to have no room he evaded several tackles and side stepping his way down the touchline he eventually crossed for Portsmouth’s 4th bonus point try. Higgins did the usual and the lead now was 28-12 on 43 minutes.

Guernsey seemed to realise that they couldn’t make much progress through their backs so resorted to a series of pick and goes or lineouts to find their way to score. After one such move in which they made good ground, their resultant score saw them close the gap to 28-19. Portsmouth then lost Liam Avis to a yellow card for 10 minutes. With Portsmouth down to 14, Guernsey took full advantage of this and scored their 4th bonus point try taking the score to 28-26. Portsmouth defended well to prevent any further scores and the final whistle went with relief all round from the Portsmouth camp as their winning run now extends to 10. All the Portsmouth bench was used and each contributed well. However, with the pack under pressure and often going backwards at the set piece, it was difficult getting the ball away cleanly.

The back’s clearly had the advantage in both attack and defence but with the pack under constant pressure it was no surprise that all the Guernsey scores came via the forwards who were not only the biggest pack we had come up against but also the most aggressive. As Bognor, who are second, lost to Sandown & Shanklin 47-42, Portsmouth are still top and have extended their lead to 8 points. (61 to 53) Gosport & Fareham beat Winchester 2nds 41-14. Winchester are 3rd on 49 points. Next week is another blank week, the next fixture is Eastleigh away on Saturday 28th February.

TEAM
WILL ROLFE, JOE BENNETTS, LIAM AVIS
SAM FOSTER, EBAN SKINNER
TOBY WILSON, SAM FLOYD, ANT.FOOKS
DOM VUGLER, MATT HIGGINS
BRAD JEWER, SAM OLIE, LEO WALL, CALLUM GRAHAMSLAW
JAY CHATHAM

BENCH
JOHN PEARSON, HENRI DAVIES, HENRY BROWN