By Tristan Pattison
Romsey stay on the winning trail
Match report courtesy of Peter Jones, Director of Rugby
Romsey 20 : 17 Havant
A high flying Havant outfit were the latest League side to succumb to Romsey’s winning ways on a cold, blustery day at Ganger Farm last Saturday.
An early Jim Lamont penalty was a just reward for a bright start for the home team. It was almost immediately backed up by a smart blind side move off a scrum that released speedster Sam Adams to open up a ten point lead after only seven minutes. On the fifteen minute mark Romsey scored one of the best tries of their season, a deft handling move that resulted in Lamont scoring close to the Havant posts. Another sweeping move was brought to a halt by a penalty infringement and Havant were able to clear their lines.
The visitors drew on all their experience to begin the task of working their way back into the match. A series of strong forward drives was eventually rewarded by a try and clever lines of running resulted in a second. A further Romsey penalty meant that the teams went into half time with the game finely balanced at 20-12. With the winds in their faces for the next forty minutes, it was clear that Caine Latham’s Romsey side would have to fight hard if they were to keep the winning streak going.
And fight hard they did, halting the bulky Havant drives with ferocious tackles and pressurising the opposition into making mistakes. The home crowd were delighted to cheer what appeared to be a crucial Dan Penn Newman try only for the referee to disallow it, and Havant renewed the attack. Another series of drives in the Romsey 22 allowed them to inch forward but the home side’s defence was resolute.
Finally the blue and gold wall was breached when Havant moved a tap penalty wide for their No.8 to score in the corner. The conversion was missed so Romsey were clinging on to a 20-17 lead.
A crucial turnover on Romsey’s line by skipper Latham was greeted by a roar from the home crowd, and Havant’s last chance had gone. The squad has now put together a run of six successive victories, playing some exciting rugby in the process. This latest win was achieved in the final minutes through full blooded defence, but there is no doubting the fact that they are a much improved side since Christmas.
Next week sees Romsey jetting off to play runaway League leaders Guernsey, but home fans will be making a note in their diaries that the last League fixture of the season is to be played versus Gosport and Fareham at Ganger Farm on March 11th. It promises to be an entertaining end to what has been a roller coaster of a season.
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