Southampton finished a terrible 2008 with a hard-fought win against Eastleigh, and today they picked up where they left off by defeating East Dorset at Test Park.

After a few early handling errors from both sides, the game started brightly for Southampton as Mark Waterer and Femi combined neatly down the left to open a hole in the Dorset defence. Femi beat his man, stepped inside and dived for the line but some desperate defending from Dorset kept him out. But with a strong wind behind him, wily old fly half Dave Griffiths kept the visitors under pressure with some clever tactical kicking. It was a high ball from Griff that led to the first try as winger Jason Kehoe pressurised the catcher, who spilled the ball, only to see Captain Pierre Molyneux pick up and stroll over for the game's first score. The conversion was wide, but Southampton had an early lead.

Saints refused to take their foot off the gas and were rewarded with their second try shortly after. From a penalty, Griff put the ball into the Dorset corner and from the resulting line-out the forwards rumbled to within yards of the line. The ball was moved out to the backs, where a well-executed move saw outside centre Dave Ward cut a great line through the Dorset defence for the second try. Griff put the conversion over and Saints led 12-0.

The first half was all about Southampton, with the forwards disrupting the Dorset scrum and creating solid platforms for the backs to attack. Paul Brant was on good form, picking up a number of loose balls and carving gaps in the defence with weaving runs. Steve Dewey also came close to scoring; taking the ball from Tony Cador he stayed on his feet under pressure from a number of defenders, but was brought down short of the line. Dave Griffiths then added a penalty to extend the lead to 15-0.

Saints' third try came after the forwards stole Dorset's ball and released the backs, who then shipped it wide quickly. Dave Ward committed his man and offloaded in contact to Jason Kehoe, who crossed in the corner. The conversion was missed, giving Saints a 20-0 lead. Shortly before half-time things looked better still, when the Dorset scrum half was sinbinned for getting involved in somebody else's scrap.

The second half saw Saints playing into the strong wind, but they started well and came close to adding to their score with a number of early chances. Tony Cador showed great pace for a big ol' unit, making solid runs and big tackles all afternoon. From a training ground line-out move Tony crossed the Dorset line in the left corner, but was held up by some desperate defending. It was Paul Brant who claimed Saints' fourth try, after a great shove from the forwards disrupted a Dorset scrum on their 5 yard line. Going backwards and with the scrum half in the sin bin, the ball popped out the back where Branty seized the opportunity and gratefully dived over. Griff converted, giving Saints a 27-0 lead.

Kevin Cant went close to scoring after replacing Jason Kehoe, by beating his man with a clever chip. But as sprinted towards the line the Dorset full back hacked the ball away. Soon after the ball was moved wide quickly, where Femi found himself unmarked on the right wing and surely would have scored- if he'd only been given the ball...!

Until this point, East Dorset had hardly threatened and found a solid wall of defence when they did get the ball. But with about half an hour to play, everything changed. Jamie Stewart found himself in the sin bin when the ref deemed a tackle to be a shoulder charge and a series of penalties for handling on the floor cost valuable field position, as Dorset now used the strong wind to keep the pressure on. After kicking Dorset to within yards of the Saints line, the fly half then cut across the pitch before finding a gap in the midfield and touching down to the right of the Saints posts. Despite a favourable angle, the conversion was wide making the score 27-5.

The try seemed to revitalise Dorset, who kept the pressure firmly on Southampton. With just under ten minutes left, Saints were their own worst enemy again when hooker Simon Heeks was sent to the bin for repeated handling on the floor. When a Dorset attack was halted short of the line, Saints were guilty of over-committing at the ruck leaving a big space for East Dorset's winger to claim their second try. Again the conversion was missed, making the final score 27-10.

Southampton definitely deserved their second league win of the season after an hour of top class rugby, but they really made it hard for themselves in the final twenty. Still some fantastic performances today, including Alan Long who made few if any mistakes. Mark Mauger added extra power to the scrums while the backs are starting to look really dangerous. The next few weeks see back-to-back league games, but Saints have plenty of reasons to be cheerful and lots of potential to build on at training.

Meanwhile the Vets had another good result, coming back from the hilly fields of Salisbury with a 15-5 victory. Ian Smart scored two tries and Rob Clarke added one.