Southampton 5 - 11 Alton

Southampton were forced into a late change when Ryan Keary was banned by the RFU following a dubious citing from Winchester. As a result, Alex Scott started on the wing, with James Dodds making his first team debut at inside centre. The only change in the pack saw Allen Long replace Rob Greenaway at flanker.

The last meeting of the sides saw Alton's big pack dominate at the set piece, but Saints have found their form in recent weeks and on Saturday they more than matched the league leaders up front. The game was evenly matched with few opportunities for either side in the first half. Tom Morton was unlucky with a penalty attempt, but broke the deadlock soon after when he pounced on a fumble from the Alton fly half and ran in to score the game's first try. The conversion was wide, giving Southampton a five-nil lead.

The game remained tight, with the back rows of both sides putting pressure on the opposition half backs and making it difficult to create opportunities for the backs. Alton's inside centre made some good ground by cutting back inside, but the Saints defence managed to keep him out. The visitors did hit back with two penalties to give them a 5-6 lead, which is how the score stood at half time.

The second half remained tight, with Southampton spending much of the time in the Alton twenty-two. But despite the territorial advantage they were unable to find the decisive move to breach the Alton defence. Julian Robins found a gap when he cut through the centres from full back, but he was unable to hold on to the ball and the chance went begging.

Instead it was Alton who extended their lead when some missed tackles allowed the inside centre to dodge his was through the Southampton defence to score. The conversion was missed, taking the score to 5-11 and ensuring a tense finish to the game.

Saints were unable to find the score they needed, despite playing some excellent rugby against the league leaders. The ref signalled the end of the game, with Alton running out 5-11 winners. But the game showed how much Saints have improved since the two sides first met, when the Alton pack outplayed Southampton and won them the game. This time there was little between the teams and Southampton could easily have come out on top.

Excellent performances came from Allen Long and Ian Budd, who both stole Alton's ball at the lineout. James Dodds looked at home on his debut in the centres, while Paul Brant also impressed with some darting runs around the breakdown. Southampton should take great heart from the performance, against a side who have been getting excellent results all season. It showed how close Southampton are to the best in the league and they will be looking to demonstrate that throughout the remainder of the season.