Southampton kicked off the new year against bottom side Petersfield, keen to make amends for a disappointing loss in the away fixture at the start of the season. Tom Humphrey returned to the starting line up after a spell away, with Cam Coffin, Alex Hill and Steve Judd making up a formidable bench.

The home side started strongly, with Humphrey reclaiming the ball from the kick off and powering towards the Petersfield line. Jordan Dashwood went even closer with a crash of his own, but when his attack was halted the ref awarded a penalty for offside, which Joe Timmins slotted over for and early 3-0 lead.

Petersfield called on their big runners to make ground and a break from the second row took them into the Southampton twenty two. With four players stacking the blind side, they switched play and a miss pass put the winger into space on the left for the game's first try. The conversion gave Petersfield the lead at 3-7.

Southampton got the ball in hand and created some opportunities, with Chris Alston coming into the line from full back only for a knock on to bring a promising attack to an end. But Southampton regained the ball from the scrum and spun the ball out to the other wing, where Fin Hammett chipped over the defence. A good chase put the full back under pressure in his twenty two, but the ref spotted a Southampton infringement as the home fans were calling instead for a Petersfield knock on.

Cam Coffin and Alex Hill came into the action and immediately caused problems for the Petersfield scrum and earned Southampton a penalty as the visitors wheeled backwards. A great catch at the back of the line from Jordan Dashwood was followed up by a drive from Cam Coffin before the ball was spread across the pitch for the backs. A knock on brought the attack to an end, but as Petersfield tried to run the ball out from the resulting scrum, they were penalised at the breakdown and Joe Timmins slotted over for three points, making it 6-7 at half time.

Petersfield got the game back underway, with Southampton making a bit of a mess of the kick off return. But Alec Gray tidied up the loose ball and made a great break to take play to the visitors' twenty two. There then came a series of scrums, with Southampton dominating but the ref opting to reset rather than penalise, eventually allowing Petersfield to clear their lines.

Southampton struck next after moving the ball from one side of the pitch tot he other. Tom Humphrey made good ground on the left wing, before Tyler Ross charged up the middle. A crash from Bean drew in more defenders, before the ball was shipped out to Fin Hammett on the overlap on the right wing. He touched down for the try with Joe Timmins adding the conversion, putting Southampton back ahead at 13-7.

Another series of reset scrums followed before Jordan Dashwood had a stable enough platform to pick up and drive, and he was close to scoring but was stopped short. Steve Munter made a great break through the middle and offloaded to Tom Howells, but he was held up over the line. But the Southampton pressure paid off. The following drop out only went as far as Cam Coffin, who returned it as far as the Petersfield five metre line before Jack Leadbitter took a crash ball and forced his way through the defence. Again, no mistake from Joe Timmins and Southampton had some breathing space at 20-7 and with about 15 minutes left to play.

Southampton saw out the remainder of the game, largely in Petersfield's half and with most of the possession, although a final attack did require an excellent tackle from Chris Alston to prevent the visitors from leaving with a losing bonus point. One worry for Southampton will be the loss of Tyler Ross, who limped off towards the end of the game with a knock to the knee.

An important win for Southampton, who are keen to put some distance between themselves and the bottom of the table. Man of the Match went to Ellis Genge Cam Coffin who made some big carries and caused no end of problems for the visitors' scrum. Dick of the Day would have gone to Chris Alston, who seems to have forgotten he is a back following his recent stand-in efforts at second row, although as he had already left it went to Judd... for being Judd.