Southampton came from behind and held off a spirited fightback from Heathens in the final minutes to secure a vital win at Test Park.

Fareham took a 12-0 lead with two tries inside the first fifteen minutes, with both scores coming from attacks down the wing. Southampton hit back with a solo effort from Tom Howells. After Heathens were penalised at the scrum, Howells took a quick tap penalty, grubber kicked the ball through the defence and beat the chasing defenders to touch down first.

A catch and drive from the line out took Southampton deep into the Fareham 22 before Howells doubled his tally after he jinked through a gap to bag his second try of the game. Tommy Ashby converted to level the scores at 12-12 at half time.

Fareham opened the second half with an attempted penalty, but the kick drifted wide. Instead the next points are from the boot of Tommy Ashby, who slotted over a penalty in front of the posts to give Southampton the lead late in the second half. They followed it up with a try from Fin Hammett who took the ball just inside his own half, beat a defender and then stepped the covering full back before finishing off with an flamboyant swan dive under the posts. Tommy Ashby converted to give Southampton a 22-12 lead.

Heathens refused to give up and ensured a tense finish. A chip over the top took them close to scoring, but Chris Alston got to the ball first. The goal line drop out was sent as far down the pitch as possible, but Heathens countered. A second chip over the top followed and this one wasn't tidied up properly by the Saints defence, with the chasing Heathen touching down for the try. The conversion was missed making the score 22-17, but Heathens' tails were up and Southampton had to endure a difficult final few minutes as the visitors put together multiple phases to take the ball to the Southampton five metre line. But after they were penalised for going off their feet at the ruck, Southampton had a chance to clear their lines.

From the resulting line out, with seconds remaining on the clock, Southampton managed to lose the ball in the tackle and Fareham had one more chance to steal the win. Their centre found a gap through the Saints midfield but was stopped on the 5 metre line, only for Southampton to turn the ball over at the breakdown. Tom Howells put the ball off the pitch and the ref blew his whistle for full time, much to Southampton's relief.

It was an excellent, hard fought win that gives Southampton vital points over their rivals in the bottom half of the table. Tommy Ashby took Man of the Match for an excellent performance in both attack and defence. Fin Hammett joined him for a pint on a chair after what will be his final game for the club this season as he heads off to work on the cruise ships as an Elvis impersonator.