Alton were taught a lesson in aggressive counter-attacking by their local rivals on Sunday.

A one-sided match saw the points almost exactly split over the two halves, with the visitors scoring almost every time they got the ball. With Petersfield having a squad of 28 players, Alton were going to be under some physical pressure with their 16 players. Already reduced in squad size this early in the season due to various broken limbs, the 16 players on duty on the day were effectively reduced to 14 when two players were hurt. Nevertheless, the two boys chose to play on, filling in where needed.

Despite being asked by the referee whether he should stop the game early, the Alton players refused, saying that they wanted to play the whole time allowed.

With this attitude and commitment as shown on Sunday, the future bodes well - the boys have reinforced the Alton ideal that there is a difference between losing and giving up.

Despite the score, the Alton players were still trying different moves and options towards the end of the match, desperately searching for any score to have as a highlight on the day. However, a dropped pass here, a missed offload or a kick that bounced the wrong way meant that this was not to be the case.

It would be grossly unfair to pick out individual players for special mention as everyone tried their best and gave their most but a mention has to be made for Michael Burchell, back with the squad after a couple of years away. Michael stepped in to scrum half and did more than was expected of him, giving good clean passes to his backs even when under pressure.

It isn't always this bad Michael - we do win matches!