NEW MILTON 22, PETERSFIELD 31

AFTER the carnage of last week’s encounter with high-riding Portsmouth, Petersfield responded with a gutsy display to secure five points at New Milton and move up to seventh in London 3SW.

’Field head coach James Alder had to dig deep into his senior section to field a XV for this unwelcome, re-arranged fixture.

New Milton probably scented blood against the side which pipped them to the Hampshire 1 title last season. However, patched-up Petersfield not only added to their tally of wins over New Milton, but denied the relegation candidates a losing bonus point.

Despite a wet and heavy surface at Normans Way, the ’Field’s speedsters were able to work their magic, but only after the New Forest side had taken the lead in the first two minutes, scrum-half Adam Lavis breaking away from a rolling maul to score in the corner.

Far from being disconcerted, Petersfield gained a foothold in the New Milton half and the hosts wilted under pressure to concede a series of penalties. Toby Sydenham crashed over after a sequence of pick-and-goes and Nick Blumlein added the extras to put his side in front.

The Reds’ second try came after a similar set-up, this time finished in the backs. Blumlein chipped a quickly-taken penalty across the field and winger Josh Haslett showed lightning pace to score.

The conversion was missed, but a third try soon followed – a superb individual effort by Seb Tuff. Having been ill on his way to the game, Tuff looked like he wouldn’t be able to pull on his boots, let alone play. Yet the quicksilver outside-centre defied the odds by not only playing but scoring the try of the match – a 40-metre break to touch down under the posts, leaving Blumlein to kick his side into a 19-5 advantage.

Ben Russell reduced the deficit for Milton after a tackle-breaking run, but Petersfield added their bonus-point fourth try before half-time, the powerful Zak Jenkins finishing well and Blumlein adding the extras to send the visitors in with a 24-10 lead.

But the second half was a real battle for ’Field who did not help their cause by regularly conceding penalties.

New Milton stormed back into contention and used their powerful forwards to score twice through Tom Duckworth and Chris Conacher. Ryan Morrell converted the second try and Petersfield’s lead was cut to two points.

At that crucial stage, the Reds fell back on their inherent obstinacy to grind out the win. They finally put together some phases without conceding a penalty and were rewarded with the conclusive try, Haslett claiming his second of the game and the reliable Blumlein converting to leave New Milton needing two scores. Petersfield duly closed the game out.

“With our injury issues, we could not have expected the full five points,” said coach Alder. “To do it away from home against a team who are desperate for a win shows how extremely hard the players have worked today.

“The battle was as much mental as physical and was exemplified by our man of the match, Seb Tuff, who looked out on his feet before the game, but put in a fantastic shift for his side, including scoring the try of the match.”

Petersfield continue their travels this week with a visit to Weybridge Vandals.