The rain finally abated and the match was played in fine conditions though the going was very soft! Ref Dave Forrest stepped up to take the whistle and presided over a game played in great spirit, and with no little skill given the porridge underfoot.

Alton welcomed back Ed Simmons from injury, though it took the best part of 2 minutes after his introduction at half time before he crossed the Aldershot line - obviously a bit rusty! ;) The Alton backline was controlled superbly by James Forrest at fly half, despite a few early knock ons the handling on display was exceptional, as was the support play which kept the pressue on Aldershot's defence with wave after wave of attack.  Mazy running from Charlie Rands and Joe Gwyther in particular resulted in tries for themselves and others.

Aldershot showed improvement over last season, their mix of U14s and U15s are developing the unit play which should see positive results over the seaon ahead. The home side scored a great try just before half time, following strong pacy runs and the team turned around at 5-17.  Alton were fortunate to have 15 forwards to select from ... wholesale changes at half time did not break the pattern, and forward momentum was maintained, all marshalled by the excellent Ollie Brench at scrum half, who was skipper for the day. The final try was the pick of the bunch; successive surging runs and support play, with Tom Bugler featuring 3 times, and Aldershot's determined defence was unable to withstand the constant pressure.

It's hard to pick out individuals when all 24 Alton players put in a really good shift, but special mentions go to:-

Richard Blizzard for superb handling and running lines - from a tighthead! Alfonso Ledesma and Andy Austin, the props who drove every scrum forward in the second half; Ollie Dickson for some superb handling in the backline; Alex Adams for raising his personal performance bar one notch higher; Cameron Lockie for a successful and rewarding first try out at flanker and Josh Smith for some breathtaking offloads out of contact that created space for his fellow backs.

Alton take their 100% record into a home friendly against Eastleigh next weekend as they build towards the second league game of the season at Trojans on 29 November.

Alton points

Tries - Charlie Rands, Ed Pasfield, James Forrest, Ed Simmons (2), Joe Gwyther (3), Josh Smith

Conversions - Joe Gwyther (2), Ed Simmons (2)