ALTON 17, LOCKSHEATH P 8

ALTON completed the double over Locksheath Pumas at a very muddy Anstey Park on Saturday.

The first Hampshire 2 meeting back in October ended 30-20 to Alton and this was another close encounter between two well-matched teams who played some decent rugby, despite the clinging mud.

Alton opted for the touch kick from an early penalty, but the resultant lineout went wrong.

Locksheath took the same option when Alton were penalised for holding on. Their lineout worked, but a last-ditch tackle on the line prevented a score.

Soon after, however, Alton transgressed again and this time the visitors gratefully accepted the points.

This fired up the home side and a couple of bullocking runs by number 8 Tom Willis earned them a kickable penalty and Joe Gwyther duly levelled the scores at 3-3.

Mishandling and lax passing continued to let Alton down. Locksheath had the same problems, one likely try being lost through a forward pass and a second knocked on over the line.

This galvanised Alton into serious action and they advanced back into the opposing half where great hassling by George Trantham forced a lineout 20 metres from the line.

Hooker Charlie Hibbert pounced on a loose ball at the front of the line and raced over in the corner. Gwyther narrowly missed the conversion and Alton took a slender 8-3 lead into half-time.

The match was effectively decided in the opening ten minutes of the second half. The Pumas were twice penalised for holding on and Gwyther kicked both to stretch the lead to 14-3.

Locksheath gamely drove back into Alton’s half and again opted for the lineout after winning a penalty. The ball was turned over by Alton, but another spilled pass led to a kick-and-rush by Locksheath who crossed the line, only to have the try disallowed.

Alton’s scrum was becoming more dominant and they induced another penalty for Gwyther to convert.

Trailing 17-3, Locksheath retaliated with a quick tap penalty and an unconverted try, but it came too late to save them as Alton closed the game out.

Alton are next in league action on January 28 when they entertain Fawley, one of only three teams to defeat them in Hampshire 2 this season. The Super 2s XV have an interesting home fixture against Portsmouth IV, one place below them in the Solent 4 Merit Table.