Fareham 10pts, Alton 36pts

On a bright day, Alton Silverbacks travelled down to the South Coast and ground out another hard-fought victory against Fareham Heathens.

Heathens had lost their last two games resoundingly before this, having failed to score a point in either, but they played this match with intensity and aggression that belied their position in the table.

The Silverbacks fielded an unfamiliar and youthful back division without their first choice kickers, but once again the strength in depth in the squad was to be too much for their opponents.

Matt Sellstrom showed their intentions from the start, collecting the kick off and running to halfway as the Silverbacks quickly put pressure on the Heathens defence. An early Silverbacks forwards advance was resisted just short of the line, but space was created and Ollie Fielder crashed over to establish an early lead after just four minutes.

The area surrounding the pitch was boggy and proved treacherous for the Alton supporters that had made the trip, but fortunately the pitch itself was much firmer and Alton looked to play expansive rugby at every opportunity.

The Heathens’ focus was pick-and-go rugby, but occasionally a forward was left isolated and the Silverbacks’ back line were quick to pounce and steal Heathens’ ball.

Silverbacks forwards were far less predictable, varying the point of attack with one or two quick passes, and from one such move the ball was spun out wide to Karter Whittock on the right wing. Whittock’s nimble feet and power proved far too much for the flailing Heathens backs as he carved through the defence to extend the lead. Fielder converted from under the posts to put Alton ahead 12-0 after just ten minutes.

Upfront, led by captain Tom Smethurst, the front five forwards were proving immense in the set play, and the scrum was particularly dominant as Heathens failed to establish any sustained good field territory.

At fly half, Ed Thomas was not having the most relaxed afternoon as the Heathens centres looked to put pressure on both half backs at every opportunity. However, after 26 minutes, Thomas found a gap and booted a soaring kick into the blue Fareham sky. The Heathens full back never looked comfortable under the ball, and after he failed to collect, Fran Williams found Brendan Sumner who was never going to be stopped from 15 metres and the lead was 17-0.

Undeterred by the scoreline, Heathens took the game to the visitors for the rest of the half as their large pack of forwards rumbled forward with impressive mauling and punched holes in the Alton defence. Eventually their belief told as a kick to the corner was collected for Heathens to register their first points and a 17-5 deficit.

The aggression at times threatened to boil over in the game and Heathens were twice penalised with yellow cards either side of half time for a neck roll and late tackle respectively. Early in the second half, the referee called all players from both sides together for a warning.

Alex Toft and Ryan Bale came on at half time and soon the Silverbacks were forced into another change as Sellstrom suffered an injury and Rhys Jenkins joined the forwards.

The Heathens efforts in the first half seemed to have taken its toll on them as they started the half sluggishly and short on numbers.

Thomas duly found a gap and Silverbacks had once again secured a bonus-point try. Fielder converted again to stretch the lead to 24-5.

Back to full strength, Heathens once more took the game to their visitors and, in a carbon copy of their first try, scored again after a kick to the corner was collected to reduce the deficit to two converted tries.

With 18 minutes left, the next score would prove to be vital and it was Whittock’s pace and timing of his run again that was too much for the flat-footed Heathens defence and secured the win.

With the Heathens team gathered under their posts, they committed to not missing another tackle for the rest of the game. However, their plan was quickly undone as Smethurst gathered the kick off with authority and perfectly timed his pass to Bale who scampered, almost untouched, under the posts for the best try of the afternoon.

Heathens were a beaten side but showed great determination and spirit until the end. For their part, the Silverbacks’ defence never took a step back against an aggressive side all afternoon and took their chances clinically when available.

This was a test of Alton’s character and a useful game ahead of next week’s important encounter with Petersfield. With Field winning against Millbrook, the scene is now set for a critical top-of-the-table game in the Hampshire Premiership on Saturday at Anstey Park as Alton trail their East Hampshire rivals by just three points but with a game in hand.