Alton overturn a 15-7 half-time deficit to notch their first win of the year.

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A heavy pitch, awful weather and a less than wonderful match - that's January rugby at Anstey Park for you. The 'Welford Road' of Hampshire rugby, as one wag put it.

Alton won't mind a bit, of course, after they got their act together and steered their London 3 campaign back on track with a gritty victory against fifth-placed Old Wellingtonians.

A shaky opening period saw Alton adrift 15-7 at half time but with the advantage of a strong, blustery win at their backs in the second half, they turned it around with tries from Andrew Hullock and Adam Baker.

It was a dog's breakfast of a game, error-strewn, awash with whistle and peppered with penalties but this victory will provide a huge morale-boost to Jimmy Gay's side, who move out of the relegation zone.

The strong wind and heavy pitch meant that this was unlikely to be a free-flowing encounter and in the end it was Alton played the smarter rugby for the conditions.

They reined in their expansive game and turned to their forwards in the second half and while the rugby was seldom pretty, the ends justified the means.

Baker gave Alton much of their oomph with a tremendous display at number eight. His physical presence at the breakdown and aggressive carries were a huge factor in Alton's revival, while flanker Shane Watts' uncanny ability to break tackles was worth ten priceless points. Gareth Richards was the personification of efficiency and industry at centre and Christo Arundel pulled the strings nicely at scrum-half.

Defensively, Alton have had a soft underbelly this season but their second-half display showed improved organisation and, crucially, greater bite in their tackles. Overall, it was a much-improved display.

Wellingtonians were probably blessed with more instinctively skilful players and were always keen to use their attractive running game; they scored two good first-half tries and also fronted up to Alton's forwards. On another day and another pitch they might have had a greater reward.

Andy Digweed at outside-half was a box of tricks: he played close to the gain-line and constantly troubled Alton with his quick feet and deft passes. Skipper Elliott Freer also showed well for the visitors with his line of running while lock Ed Caesar's charges earned plenty of hard yards. But as a unit they didn't quite match Alton's cohesion.

Coming into the game there was a fear that successive defeats might have sapped Alton's belief and when Wellingtonians' full-back Alex Barker scored an opportunist try after just 36 seconds, the signs did not look good for the windswept Anstey faithful.

Alton full-back Dan Forsyth looked to counter from halfway but Wellingtonians' centre Freer snaffled the ball, sent Barker away and the full-back showed a sharp turn of pace to ground his own chip ahead.

But Alton's spirit was as steely as the grey skies above them and they took the lead with their only meaningful attack of the first half when Watts slipped a couple of tackles at a ruck on the Wellingtonians' 22 and had the pace and strength to force his way to the line.

However, Barker restored the visitors lead with a 40-yard penalty and Digweed extended it to 15-7 when he forced his way over from a ruck after intense pressure on the Alton line.

With Alton enjoying the benefits of conditions in the second half, they began to ratchet up the aggression levels and take a stranglehold on the game.

Watts turned provider when he sprinted clear from a ruck and pointed Hullock to the tryline and three minutes later Alton regained the lead when Steve Osborne broke from a ruck and slipped a superb off-load out of the tackle to send Baker over.

Wellingtonians hit back and had an opportunity to salvage the game when they were awarded a five-metre scrum against a seven-man Alton pack eight minutes from the end. But Ian Pennell penalised them for a crooked feed, Alton duly cleared their lines and managed to run down the clock inside the Wellingtonians' 22.

Alton: Forsyth; O'Connor, Hemmens, Richards, Hullock (T Salmon, 66); Osborne, Fleming (Ovens, 44), Gay (c); Oliphant, Ford; Watts, Gerlach (Carter, 44), Baker.

Tries: Watts (26), Hullock (49), Baker (52);
Conversion: Hullock.
Yellow card: Oliphant (64).

Old Wellingtonians: Barker; Byre (Gaule 61-66, 66), Freer (c), Stringer, Gower; Digweed, Price; Starling, Carey, Martin; Caesar, N Salmon; Rees, Seward, Kertesz.

Tries: Barker (1), Digweed (37);
Conversion: Barker (31);
Penalty: Barker.
H-T: 7-15.

Referee: Ian Pennell (Hampshire Society).

With thanks to OWRFC's Hugh Salmon and Doug Harrison for additional info.

* Victory eases Alton's relegation fears but results elsewhere were not so helpful. Second-from-bottom Fordingbridge earned themselves a lifeline after a surprise win at Petersfield and Old Wimbledonians arrested their slide with victory over London South Africa.

While the London 'Boks are all but doomed, it is still desperately tight in London 3. Only eleven points separate third-from-bottom Ellingham and Ringwood and third-placed Winchester and any two of nine teams could still face the drop.

Other London 3SW results:

Camberley 34 - 10 Old Alleynians;

Ellingham & Ringwood 8 - 16 Teddington;

Old Wimbledonians 23 - 8 London South Africa;

Petersfield 22 - 32 Fordingbridge;

Sandown & Shanklin 12 - 10 Winchester.