Farnborough 11 - 13 Saints

With a number of players unavailable, prop Kevin Simmons partnered Mark Mauger at second row with Ryan Pickering coming in at tight head. Dave Ward replaced Paul Brant at scrum half, with Dave Griffiths coming in at fly half.

The conditions proved difficult for both sides, with a strong wind blowing down the pitch. Southampton played with the wind behind them in the first half and used it to good effect, with Dave Griffiths playing the corners and keeping Farnborough pegged inside their twenty two for most of the half.

Southampton had two shots at goal after Farnborough were penalised for handling on the floor, but Dave Griffiths couldn't find the target in the strong breeze. They also went close through hooker Andrew Dymott, but he was held up over the line after a series of powerful drives from the forwards. But the deadlock was broken after twenty minutes, when Mark Waterer broke through the defence from outside centre to score the first try. The conversion was missed giving Saints a 5-0 lead.

But Southampton weren't ahead for long. A high kick from was gathered by full back Aaron Nelson, but the Farnborough flanker was up quickly and stripped the ball, before running in to score in the corner. The kick was narrowly wide from a difficult angle and into the strong wind, levelling the scores at 5-5.

Southampton continued playing the half in Farnborough territory but were unable to breach the excellent defence. Instead, Captain Pierre Molyneux showed great initiative by slotting over a drop goal to give Southampton an 8-5 lead at half time.

The change of ends saw Southampton playing into the gale and unable to kick their way out of trouble as easily. Instead they used their powerful pack to good effect and drove to within five yards of the Farnborough line. With the defence stretched, Farnborough killed the play by dragging in the Saints scrum half. But the penalty was then overturned when Southampton reacted to the infringement, giving Farnborough the chance to clear their lines.

The home side then capitalised on further indiscipline and tied the scores with a penalty, ensuring a tense finale to the game. They then took the lead for the first time with a further penalty, making the score 11-8 with ten minutes to go.

But Southampton stuck to their game plan and refused to give up, keeping the ball amongst the forwards and making excellent ground. Dave Griffiths put them in an excellent position from a penalty and the visitors geared up for a final attack. After a solid catch and drive, the Saints maul drove to within five yards before Farnborough were again penalised at the breakdown. Spotting a gap, Tony Cador caught the defence off-guard and darted down the touchline to score a crucial try with just two minutes left on the clock. The conversion was missed, but Southampton had done enough to win the game 13-11.

Overall it was an excellent performance from a makeshift Southampton side, with a man-of-the-match performance from Ian Mauger, who stole countless ball from Farnborough and was a constant menace at flanker. Dave Griffiths also won the battle of the number tens, making better use of the wind in the first half and coping well in the second- despite losing a contact lens in a tackle!

Meanwhile the Vets came unstuck against an excellent Havant side, who ran in 41 unanswered points to knock Pete Fox's lads out of the Hampshire Cup.

Southampton have a break from league action next week, before facing the new league leaders Petersfield on the 28th.