Sandown & Shanklin run riot at Anstey Park as Alton's defensive frailties are exposed.

Sandown and Shanklin wing Dan Muir scored a hat-trick inside the first 17 minutes and five tries in all as the Isle of Wight side romped to victory at Anstey Park.

Alton were effectively out of the game before the end of the first quarter and while they improved markedly after the break, it was never a contest in any meaningful sense.

To dwell on Alton's frailties does not do justice to the excellence of Sandown and Shanklin, especially in the opening half-hour. Faced as they were with some pretty tepid Alton tackling, they were rampant around the fringes, breached the gain-line at will and consequently created numerous opportunities for their wide men. They were hungrier, more aggressive and showed far more unity than a hugely disappointing Alton.

Open-side flanker Joe Rees and number eight Tom Booth carried strongly and tirelessly all day and worked superbly in tandem, while inside centre Andy Gough was the prime mover in the three-quarters. Harsh as it may seem on five-try Muir, any one of that trio could and should have been man of the match.

Alton were much, much better after the interval and showed some decent flashes, and they were rewarded with John Happel's consolation try but they played their best rugby when it didn't matter.

They can point to a number of absentees and the early withdrawal of stand-off Mark Crowther but they were off the pace in the opening half when their defence was woeful.

They will need to carry out some immediate remedial work for the crucial game at Old Wimbledonians if they are to avoid being dragged into the relegation battle.

If the second-half showing is anything to go by, they can do it. If they had shown the same defensive resilience in the first minute as they had in the closing stages, we might have had a game on our hands.

There were notable exceptions. Shane Watts and Gareth Richards, fine competitors both, gave it their all as ever and it was Alton's slightest figures - Adam Gill and Matt O'Connor - who often put in the biggest tackles. O'Connor's needless yellow card for a late tackle was almost commendable in the context - at least he showed some aggression.

It took Sandown just 100 seconds to open the scoring. Alton fumbled into touch, the visitors won the line-out and nine phases later Muir ambled over.

He added his second moments later when the Islanders won turnover on Alton's 22 and simple hands once again worked the overlap. Muir had to work  a little harder for his hat-trick try, stepping inside a couple of Alton tackles and showing good strength to force his way over.

A fourth followed on the half-hour and Muir completed his five-card trick when he gathered a cute box-kick from scrum-half Joe Dove and dotted down in the corner.

Happel drove over from a free-kick shortly before the hour after some neat approach player from John McHarg and Watts but it was the Islanders, fittingly, who had the final say when full-back Kern Wales squeezed over in the dying moments.

However, Alton were thrown a lifeline or sorts with the news that Old Wimbledonians were unable to raise a side for their trip to Ellingham & Ringwood.

The south Londoners are likely to be docked five points which, if confirmed, will keep them firmly lodged in the relegation zone alongside London South Africa and Fordingbridge.

Elsewhere, Teddington have been promoted to London 2 after extending their unbeaten run to 51 games after a 49-22 triumph at Wellingtonians.

Alton: McHarg; Salmon, Gill, Richards (c), Forsyth; Crowther (O'Connor, 8), Arundel; Happel, Parratt, Ovens (Carter, 51); Osborne, Oliphant; Watts, Gerlach, Ford.

Try: Happel (58).

Yellow cards: O'Connor (46), Salmon (78).

Sandown and Shanklin: Wales; Muir, Cooper, Gough, Muir; Baxendall, Dove; Harris (c) (Eldridge), Thomas, Skelley; S Rees, J Rees, Carey, Booth.

Tries: Muir (2, 7, 17, 29, 52), Wales (79).

Conversions: Baxendall (5).

Referee: Wayne Morris (Hampshire Society).