With storm Bert lashing down rain, Overton and Southampton faced off in a scrappy contest which swung back and forth a number of times throughout the afternoon.

Overton kicked off with the pre-match words of Marcus Coffin still fresh in Saints' minds. "They are giving you the ball and they don't touch it again until they are standing under their own posts". And that is exactly how things panned out as Southampton returned the kick and put together a number of phases before the ball found Tom Humphrey in space on the left wing. The scrambling defence were unable to stop him and Saints were quickly off the mark.

Overton's game plan soon became clear, using they big forwards to crash around the breakdown. Jack Leadbitter found himself on the wrong end of the physicality as he took a big hit and was replaced by Ryan Dashwood. The strong running paid dividend for Overton as they hit back with a converted try of their own, to take the lead at 7 - 5. With Saints discussing the need to go low on the big Overton runners, Josh Fearon decided he would try a different approach - grabbing his opponent's shirt and swinging him around - before asking the ref if he was actually allowed to do that. Allowed, Josh? Yes. Effective? Not so much...

After a missed penalty attempt, Southampton then regained the lead through a Tyler Ross try. With a swirling wind behind them, Southampton winger Hodds put a kick over the defence and chased it himself, putting the Overton defender under pressure and forcing the knock on. After the resulting scrum, the ball made its way to Ross who powered his way through a number of defenders to score to the right of the posts. Tom Humphrey converted and the score at half time was 7 - 12.

With the wind now behind them in the second half, Overton looked to kick to Saints' left corner regularly. One kick stayed infield and a good chase saw them reach the ball first and touch down for the try. The conversion took them into the lead at 14 - 12.

It was a kick from Southampton that led to the next try, as Alec Gray put the ball into space behind the defence. Jordan Dashwood was first to the ball and retained it for Southampton, who then moved it out to the left wing where Tommy Humphrey was waiting. The big winger powered through and slid in for the try, almost ending up in the car park on the slippery surface. Southampton were now back on top, 14 - 17.

The lead didn't last long though, as Overton's big number 8 took a quick tap penalty and evaded a number of defenders to power over the line. The kicker made it three from three and the lead had changed hands again, at 21 - 17 with ten minutes to go.

With the clock ticking Saints pressed for a winner. The ball came out to replacement winger Dave Ward whose pass inside to Gus Nye was deemed to have been deliberately knocked on by an Overton defender, who spent the rest of the match in the sin bin. Southampton kept the pressure on and with the last play of the match, Tyler Ross grabbed his second try and earned Saints a bonus point win as he crashed over the line under the posts. Tom Humphrey converted, the ref blew his whistle for end of the game and Saints took the victory 21 - 24.

Tyler Ross took the Man of the Match award, while Josh Fearon was Dick of the Day for his shirt swinging shenanigans. The win sees Southampton leapfrog Aldershot and Fleet to go fourth in the table, only two points behind third placed Romsey. The Firsts have a week off next Saturday, while the Second team hosts Chineham at Test Park.

Southampton Rugby Club

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