US Pompey v Saints

It's not been the best of starts for Southampton. The final 20 minutes against Alton last week had shown the rugby they were capable of playing, but yet again today against US Pompey, Saints came away with a defeat from a game they should have won.

US Pompey were quick off the mark, taking the opportunity to kick an early three points after a penalty for not releasing. But Saints got into their stride and soon found gaps in the US defence. Paul Brant made some darting runs from the breakdown while the forwards were domintating the Pompey scrum. Unlike the first half at Alton, the backs were getting good ball and found space out wide on a number of occasions. After Ginger stole a scrum against the head the ball was moved wide early, winger Dave Ward pulled out the sidestep of his life to beat his man, but couldn't quite find enough pace and was bundled out just short of the line by the covering full back.

Saints saw a lot of the ball in the first half and made a lot of chances. Tony Cador came close after picking up at 8, while Bean ran some good crash balls- showing his killer pace over three yards. But the breakthrough came with the last attack of the half. The ball was worked wide early, Julian Robbins drew his man and fed Dave Ward, who finished the move off with his tackler's arm around his throat. The conversion was moved under the posts, technically making it a penalty try, but hey ho. I grounded it so I'm claiming it! Southampton leading 7-3 at half time.

Now I don't know what was in the half time oranges, but a different Southampton side seemed to start the second half. Straight from the kick off, the US receiver broke through a number of tackles, through a disorganised midfield to open up a frantic Saints defence. Soon after, Pompey found more space in midfield, exploiting some erratic defending to cross the line under the Saints posts. The conversion was a formality, Saints now trailing 10-7.

Things got worse soon after, with Saints struggling to retain the ball. With full back Robbins drawn into the line to cover, Pompey chipped over the defence into a huge open space. Despite a desperate attempt to chase back, it was the Pompey full back, (wearing lovely orange boots), who got there first to stretch the US lead. The conversion was missed, leaving Saints 15-7 behind.

Saints continued to struggle to string together attacking moves, but did show some flashes of talent. Tony Cador made a lightning break... so quick in fact, he left all support trailing and suddenly found himself surrounded by Pompey players. A quick U-turn (much to the amusement of the crowd) and he offloaded to a charging Alfie Jenks- who unfortnately charged straight into the group of Pompey players Tony had previously evaded.

But as the game entered the final ten minutes, Saints started to make use of the ball more. Finding some space of the left, Julian Robbins linked up with Dave Ward, who was again hit with a shockingly high tackle. A penalty and a long chat, but the US winger was lucky to stay on the pitch.

The final nail in Saints' coffin came after an attacking break was held up and led to slow Pompey ruck ball. Using the time to organise a pivot, Pompey shipped the ball crossfield where the full back darted into the line, stepped inside the defence and touched down under the posts. The conversion was good, leaving the final score 22-7 to US Pompey.

The worst thing about today's result must be that Saints know they had the beating of Portsmouth. If more balls had gone to hand, if more tackles had been made... Clearly a team with lots of potential, but Saints need to start turning these "ifs" this into league points. Next league game is Farnborough, on 4th October.