Andover 56 - 6 Southampton

Southampton walked away with two losing bonus points when they last faced league leaders Andover, but in Saturday’s return fixture they left empty-handed and on the wrong end of a scoreline that didn’t really reflect the performance.

Andover got off the mark first with a penalty, which was soon followed up by the first try for their impressive back division. A long kick was not chased down by Southampton, giving Andover plenty of time and space to counter. They got the ball wide and put a man in on the overlap, and Saints’ backs could do nothing to stop him.

Southampton closed the gap with two penalties from Ryan Keary and came very close to the Andover line through some excellent ball retention from the forwards. With Saints focussing on staying on their feet in contact, Andover struggled to stop the powerful pack and were driven back towards their line. But the visitors couldn’t finish the move off and Andover stole the ball and cleared.

Chris Alston also came close to scoring as Southampton dominated second quarter of the game, as he chipped the ball down the line from right wing. But as he closed in on his first try for the 1s, the ball bobbled into touch in goal and Andover sent it clear from the resulting 22. Instead it was Andover who stretched their lead, showing an abundance of pace in the backs as they found gaps in the defence, taking an 18-6 lead at half time.

It was a different story in the second half, as Andover showed the quality that must make them hot favourites for the title. Their number 13 ran the show, running in four scores with a sidestep to be proud of. The scrum half also got in on the act with a pair, including one which came after a cheeky flick backwards between the legs by his number eight. The game finished disappointingly for Southampton, on the wrong end of a 56-6 scoreline.

Southampton can take lots of pride from their performance, with the forwards showing that when they start driving teams backwards there are few who can stop them.

Steve Dewey came into second row and earned himself a Man of the Match award for his powerful mauling and scrummaging. Ian Mauger and Chris Milne also put in typically strong performances, while the return of Ramsay Lind at fly half saw the Scot finding a promising number of gaps in the defence. He also went down like Bambi on ice in rollerskates, but you can’t have everything…

It’s an away trip to Ventnor for Southampton next week. With all the bottom sides losing at the weekend, the islanders are still only 1 point ahead of Saints in the league, making it a crucial game for both sides.