With four of our first choice XV unavailable for this game it was a chance for other players to step up to the mark and indeed they can be proud of their efforts in this match.

Against a larger and more aggressive pack Alton played well and some fine hooking from Ben Williams saw Alton take several balls against the head. It was Romsey however who took the lead in the first half before Josh Saunders out flanked the Romsey defense to level the score at 5-5 at half time.

With no changes to personnel at half time, Romsey continued to dominate territory and showed more urgency when the ball was loose on the ground. Very good defense by Sebastian Forman and Oli Pratt in particular prevented Romsey from scoring a try until Romsey did force their way over the Alton line midway through the second half to take the lead 10-5. However an unexpected restart from Alton, kicking the ball away from the Romsey pack, confused the opposition and enabled Tom Homans to score a try thus keep up his impressive try scoring figures. 

The match finished with a draw of two tries each, but as with most competition rules, Romsey, as the away side progress to the second round of the cup competition, whilst Alton will now contest for the Hampshire Under 13 Plate.

There was a sense of déjà-vu after the final whistle as in the last tournament which took place in the spring of this year, Alton lost to Romsey which forced them into the Plate competition in which they were beaten in the final. So although a better result, drawing instead of losing the effect for Alton was the same.

Ed Thomas