Missing a number of regulars including Kev Simmons and Tom Howells, Southampton dragged Marcus Coffin out of retirement and Dave Ward from the Second Team for the trip to Romsey. A spirited effort from Southampton wasn't enough as Romsey ran out 42-15 winners.

Anticipating another close game, Romsey took a chance for an early three points when Southampton strayed offside in the midfield. It was a difficult effort from around 40 metres, but the kick was successful for an early 3-0 lead.

With the return of Alex Hill to the front row, Southampton's pack showed their dominance early on driving the Romsey scrum backwards on numerous occasions. It was Romsey who bagged the next points of the game however. A break through the centres opened up the Southampton defence, before a neat offload kept the attack going. Some desperate defence on the try line kept Romsey out, but a series of crashes from the forwards continued the pressure until they eventually found a gap. The conversion was missed, making the score 8-0.

Southampton hit back with a try of their own five minutes later. A strong run from Jordan Dashwood drew in multiple tacklers, bringing the Romsey winger out of position. Dashwood found Carl Shodeke who showed excellent pace to go round the outside and reduce Romsey's lead to 8-5.

Southampton were forced into a change when Tom Laycock was subjected to a completely unnecessary assault by a Romsey player, who landed two punches on the Southampton flanker as he was on the ground. Laycock was replaced by Ollie Sutton, while the ref decided a penalty was sufficient punishment.

The game remained tight for much of the first half, with Romsey dominating territory and possession. They finally converted the pressure into points just before half time when a looping pass put the right winger into space, giving the home side a 13-5 lead at half time.

Romsey extended their lead ten minutes into the second half with a break through the centre from the scrum half. They followed this up with another shortly after and suddenly the scoreboard showed a wider gap, at 27-5. But after repeated offsides in the centres, the ref lost patience and sent the outside centre for a ten minute break.

Southampton hit back with a training ground penalty move after Romsey were again offside close to their try line. The big Southampton runners drew the attention of the defence, only for Jordan Dashwood to dummy and power over himself. But Romsey hit back with a try almost immediately to restore their 22 point lead at 32-10, before extending it further with a penalty.

A great turnover at the ruck from Southampton saw the ball moved quickly to the left wing, where Carl Shodeke ran in a fantastic try from just inside his own half. But the game didn't end well for Carl who injured his shoulder as he was bundled into touch and finished the game on the sideline receiving attention from First Aider Becky.

Romsey finished off the scoring with the runner drawing in simultaneous tackles from Marcus Coffin and Ryan Dashwood. The two Southampton players collided in the tackle leaving Coffin with a lump on the head, Dashwood with a wonky nose and the Romsey player free to go between the two of them. The conversion made the final score 42-15.

Despite the defeat, this was a performance with plenty of heart from Southampton. Tommy Ashby made a series of massive tackles, Steve Judd was a regular menace at the breakdown and Jack Leadbitter played most of the game with a tampon up one nostril. Judd got Man of the Match, while Josh Fearon took Dick of the Day by a country mile for leaving the pitch after just 45 seconds to go and have a poo.

Southampton would like to thank Romsey's medic Kerry who worked overtime fixing a number of bleeding and battered Southampton players after the match.