Southampton 29 - 31 Andover

Southampton showed they can compete with the best in the division when they fought back to within two points of Andover on Saturday.

Andover started strongly and immediately had Southampton defending a scrum on their own five metre line. The number eight flicked the ball between his legs to his scrum half, catching the Saints defence napping on the blind side. But the winger couldn't hold the final pass, knocking the ball on with the try line begging.

It was then Paul Brant who sparked Southampton into action, taking a quick tap penalty to make good distance. And when the ref awarded Southampton another penalty on the Andover five metre line, a cleverly worked move saw a massive gap open up for Fraser Chisholm, who gratefully took the chance to open the scoring. Ryan Keary added the extras for an early 7-0 lead.

But Andover hit back almost immediately after the right winger chipped the ball back infield towards the posts. The chasing attacker then won the sprint to the ball, although questions remain about whether the ball had crossed the dead ball line. The ref decided the ball was still in play and awarded the try, which was duly converted to level the score.

Andover then pushed ahead when their big centre powered his way through under the posts. An interception then took them further ahead, putting some distance between the two teams at half time with a 7-19 scoreline.

Andover began the second half with a try after a powerful drive at a scrum. With the scrum coming to pieces, the number eight broke off and dived for the line, just doing enough to reach the line. The conversion made it 7-26.

But Southampton then got into a rhythm with the forwards combing well to make ground and suck in the defence. The ball came out to the backs who put Ryan Keary through on an overlap in the corner. An excellent conversion took the score to 14-26.

Southampton then scored again through Paul Brant, with a typical break from scrum half, bringing the score to 19-26. But another interception allowed Andover to move further ahead after another piece of good fortune.

Southampton then swapped Dave Ward for Adam Zeller at outside centre and were immediately rewarded when Zeller cut a brilliant line to open up the defence and score under the posts, for 26-31.

With Southampton now dominating the game, they looked for a final opportunity as the clock quickly ran down. Another clever tap penalty from close range put Steve Dewey into space, but he was held up on the line. Eventually it was Paul Brant who spotted a gap to score on the right. The conversion was from a difficult angle and Keary couldn't find the target, leaving Southampton trailing by two at 29-31.

Southampton were unable to capitalise on a late penalty as the ball went loose at the lineout, allowing Andover to put the ball into touch and seal the win. An excellent fightback which shocked the league leaders, but which ultimately fell agonisingly short.

But Southampton must now realise they can live with the best teams in the league as they played some excellent rugby and caused plenty of problems for Andover. They also earned themselves two bonus points for scoring more than four tries and finishing within seven points.

An excellent performance from Paul Brant, who kept Andover on their toes with a number of quick tap penalties and bagged himself two tries. Also Ian Mauger had a good game, including a thumping hit on an unlucky catcher at a kick off, while Nick Cazeaux also did well and secured a number of loose balls.

All in all a thrilling game which demonstrated the quality rugby Southampton are capable of. The back line looked dangerous with Ramsay Lind settling in well at fly half, and the forwards were typically powerful up front.

A break from league action sees Southampton travel to Haslemere in the Junior Vase next week.