Eastleigh v Saints

Southampton kicked off their league campaign away to Eastleigh and it proved to be something of a rude awakening following last week’s easy win over East Dorset in a friendly.

Saints were forced to make some late changes as Paul Brant was unavailable while Peter Toland, Fraser Chisholm, Ryan Keary and Josh Pitt were all carrying injuries. As a result, Marcus Coffin started at tight head, Dave Ward came into scrum half and Tony Cador lined up at fly half.

After two close victories against Eastleigh last season Southampton were hoping to start their season with a win, but the home side had other ideas and took the lead after only a few minutes. After winning a lineout close to the visitors’ line, Eastleigh spun the ball out and forced their way through the defence for the first score of the day. The conversion was missed, leaving Saints five points adrift.

Southampton tried to play their way back into the game but struggled to retain their ball from scrums and lineouts. Finding it hard to generate momentum, Southampton found themselves relying on Eastleigh’s mistakes for their opportunities.

The closest they came to scoring in the first half came after the ball was fly hacked behind the Eastleigh line after the home side fumbled during an attack. Julian Robins and Dave Ward gave chase and bundled the Eastleigh receiver into touch, but with the pack unable to retain their ball at the line, the opportunity went begging.

Although Southampton kept Eastleigh out for most of the half, they did extend their lead midway through the half after breaking down the left with a rolling maul. The attack was well supported and the numbers were enough to break through a disorganised defence.

Saints were forced to make more changes when Dan Keepax went off injured. This saw Tony Cador move to number 8 and Pierre Molyneux take over at fly half. But the Saints backs hardly got an opportunity to use their pace in attack, and it was Eastleigh who added to their score.

The Southampton pack worked hard to compete at the set piece and started to win their own ball, despite hooker Marcus Coffin forgetting the lineout calls midway through the second half. But they were unable to string a meaningful attack together while Eastleigh took their opportunities, notching up 36 points with no reply.

Lots to work on for Southampton, who will need to protect their own ball much better if they are to create decent attacking opportunities in future weeks.

The next game is away to Romsey, who Southampton beat comfortably at the end of last season. But they will surely need to improve in all areas if they are to repeat the feat on Saturday.