Andover III 15 - 41 Southampton

League leaders Southampton headed to Andover knowing a bonus point win today would put them out of reach of second placed Gosport and Fareham, with just one league match remaining.

But the home side started strongly and soon found themselves camped in Saints' 22. An attempted clearance kick was charged down, adding to the pressure, but the defence held out and a stolen line out saw Saints clear their lines.

A break from centre Josh Fearon then took Saints into Andover territory for the first time. Scrum half Tom Howells chipped the ball over the defence and gathered it himself, running in to score under the posts. Ryan Morrell converted giving Saints an early seven point lead.

The weather then took a turn for the worse, with players and supporters being buffeted by hailstones. In the difficult conditions, Andover kicked for touch following a penalty. Jordan Dashwood's attempt to keep the ball in play went wrong and the ball rolled dead giving Andover a five metre scrum. But a knock on from the Andover scrum half gave Saints a reprieve and a chance to clear their lines.

As the hailstorm ended, a long pass found the Andover full back just inside the Saints half. He obviously didn't fancy running, so instead knocked over an absolutely perfect drop goal from around forty metres. Not something you see every day from your average third team player...

Shortly after, scrum half Tom Howells was clattered in the tackle and replaced by Dave Ward. Saints added a penalty through Ryan Morrell, taking the score to 3-10. But it was Andover who finished the half strongest. Two crashes from the big forwards sucked in the Saints defence, before the ball was moved out to the right wing for the inside centre to score. The conversion was missed, making the half time score 8-10.

Saints started the second half well with Jordan Dashwood picking up from the base of the scrum and finding a gap in the defence for his first try of the game. Jordan then found himself unwittingly winding up the Andover full back, who threw his toys out of the pram, got a warning from the ref and then substituted himself and stomped off in a huff. Dashwood's second try came shortly after following a huge shove by the Saints scrum which drove Andover back over their own line and suddenly there was daylight between the two sides with the score at 8-24.

Saints sealed the bonus point with the best try of the game. Fly half Alec Gray threw a huge miss pass which Chris Alston ran onto at full speed. He rounded the defence and finished from long range to spark wild celebrations from the travelling supporters and replacements on the touchline. The conversion came back off the post but Southampton now led 8-29 with the bonus point in the bag. All that was needed was to hold on for the win and Saints knew they would be league Champions...

Saints refused to take their foot off the gas, with Aaron Owen making a break from full back. He found debutant Tommy Ashby in support who took the ball close to the Andover line. The ball was then knocked loose by Andover and it fell kindly for Charles Wyld, who caught it(!) and ran in for his first league try for Southampton.

Southampton failed to deal properly with the restart and Andover were able to launch an attack down the left and force their way over in the corner. The conversion was from a very difficult angle, but the kicker slotted it over beautifully making the score 15-34.

With time running out, Saints turned over possession through Steve Judd and Tommy Ashby. The ball went out wide to Rico Scala on the left wing who made good ground before feeding Adam Harrington, who finished it off well. Tom Howells converted to make it 15-41 and when the ref's whistle signalled full time shortly after the Southampton celebrations began as they knew it was job done. Champions, with a game to spare.

It was a tough game against a much better Andover side than the one beaten 70-7 in the home fixture back in December, but Southampton showed their quality to come out on top. Lack Leadbitter's introduction at half time saw the back row put in some typically big hits, while Jordan Dashwood earned another Man of the Match pint and Aaron Owen was the Dick of the Day after managing to kick a penalty dead from ten metres out when it seemed easier to find touch.

Saints have a week's break for Easter before finishing off the league campaign with a home match against Chineham on April 6th. Please come down and support the lads as they attempt to close out an excellent season in style.