Hampshire Counties One rugby: New Milton falls just short on league debut
Hampshire Counties One
New Milton RFC 32
Havant RFC II 40
AFTER earning promotion last season, New Milton and their supporters expected a challenging game against Havant seconds, but they did themselves proud while falling just short.
Milton’s played well in their first game in the top Hampshire division, and the scores were level at half-time, and although Havant turned the screw after the break, the hosts pushed late and narrowed the scores.
When the final whistle came, the victors had scored six tries, while New Milton was hot on their heels with five.
Havant got their name on the scoreboard after quickly taking a penalty and racing into the corner to touch down.
New Milton responded well, playing their typical brand of passing rugby, with Tom Gould breaking through the defence before feeding the ball to Alex Bolter-Jackson to score.
The hosts returned a kick to the Havant 22 from the kick-off, but the visitors used the possession well, running in a slick converted try.
With the action restarted, New Milton’s pressure caused Havant to give away a penalty, which Dalton Thomas slotted through the uprights.
New Milton was in cruise control at this stage, and after winning a line-out in the opposition’s 22, good teamwork led to Ollie Woodhouse running in a try, with Thomas kicking the extras.
The hosts were quickly on the attack again, and after a scrum on the halfway line, they burst forward with Christian Brown surging into the 22 before sliding a grubber kick to Bolter-Jackson, who showed good hands before touching down.
With half-time approaching, Havant ran in a decent try before converting and missing penalties for a 20-20 tied game at the break.
Havant was quickly on the attack after the break, taking a penalty quickly to run in a try before slotting a penalty through the sticks.
The visitors looked to impose themselves, but an excellent interception from Jude Payne led to the player charging forward and scoring. Thomas lined up the conversion and added the extras.
After sustained pressure in the hosts’ 22, Havant scored a converted try before standing tall in the face of New Milton’s renewed attack. Eventually, they stole the ball from a scrum and cleared, leading to another try.
Milton was quickly back in the Havant 22, but after the referee declared the ball was held up when many felt it had not been, the subsequent penalty gave them another chance, and Man of the Match Woodhouse completed his brace for a 40-32 scoreline.
New Milton: S. Bew, L. Booker, R. Pearce, J. Corbett, J. Blair, L. Thomas, D. Jackson, O. Woodhouse, D. Thomas, C. Brown, C. Hammerstone, J. Payne, J. Eldridge, T. Gould, A. Bolter-Jackson. Subs: E. Hynd, B. Field, B. Sheldon.
