After Chineham were unable to fulfil the planned fixture, a hastily arranged game saw the Seconds take to the road to face Andover 3s - while chef Harry rushed to freeze the mountain of chilli he had planned to serve at Test Park. A number of players were unable to make an away game, so Southampton took to the field with 13 players - but were brought up to full strength with the addition of two players on loan from Andover.

The game started at a frantic pace, with Southampton moving the ball wide early for Toby Cazeaux to attack down the left wing. He was stopped and Southampton shifted the ball across the park to attack down the right wing. A chip over the top took them close to the line but the covering defender was able to gather and clear giving everyone a chance to finally catch their breath.

Despite the early Saints' pressure it was Andover who opened the scoring after being first to a kick over the defence. The conversion was given, despite none of the Southampton players being convinced it had cleared the crossbar. Over or not, the kicker absolutely leathered it and a new ball was needed while they scoured the surrounding fields for the original.

The home side then doubled their lead as a big runner exploited a disorganised defence to evade a number of tackles and cross for the second try. Mr Big Thighs promptly sent the conversion flying through the trees behind the posts and Saints were kicking off with another new ball, fourteen points down.

The restart was caught by Gus Nye who cut through the Andover defence before he was finally stopped inside the 22. The ball was recycled quickly and made its way to Jack Leadbitter who held off four defenders as he powered towards the line, before diving and reaching the line with arm fully outstretched. The conversion was missed but the lead was cut to 14 - 5.

Southampton were dominant at the line out and stole a number of Andover throws. In their attempt to avoid the Southampton jumpers a number of throws went clean over the top and were gathered by scrum half Paul Rutherford or Alec Gray at 10. Andover still managed to fashion opportunities, with Ian Budd saving a try by holding up an attacker over the line.

It was Andover who grabbed the next try to give them a 19 - 5 lead, before Saints hit back again. A series of phases took them close to the line and gaps opened up, with the backs screaming for the ball with a four man overlap. Instead Southampton attacked the blind side where Luke Inder was on hand to power his way over for his first try for the club- with proud grandad and former first team coach Mark cheering from the touchline. Despite a difficult angle, Tom Humphrey nailed the conversion.

Andover grabbed a fourth try before half time to give them a 24 - 12 lead at the break.

At half time, Andover reclaimed the loaned winger who could actually catch and instead lent Saints a second row. Robbie Ashby moved to full back and Jack Leadbitter to back row and the change to the Southampton pack had an immediate impact. The Andover scrum was now being pushed back, making it difficult for the scrum half to get the ball away cleanly. Southampton were now on the front foot and Andover's mood had changed as they started bickering amongst themselves, with the coach and with the ref. Tom Humphries took advantage of the disorder as he crashed his way over the line to bring Saints within one try at 24 - 19.

As Andover looked to hit back, Dave Ward darted through the line to intercept just inside the Andover half. He managed to evade a couple of chasing defenders, but the old legs didn't have the pace to run in from that distance and he was pulled down. But soon after Southampton thought they had stolen the lead when a loose ball was hacked through by Tom Humphrey. He went into full football mode and kicked on again and dived on the ball over the line, only for the ref to bring play back to the halfway line for a double knock on in the build up.

Despite the Saints fightback, Andover were not finished and they continued looking to extend their lead. They crossed the line twice, but were held up over the line by dogged Saints defending. But despite some heroic defence, Andover did cross twice more to take the scoreline to 36 - 19; a scoreline which doesn't really reflect how close the game actually was.

The were some great performances from the boys in red and white. Gus Nye had an excellent game, stealing line out ball, making big hits and carrying strongly. Jack Leadbitter and Tom Humphrey were typically powerful runners. Toby Cazeaux's promising running was cut short when he went off with an injury to the shoulder. Luke Inder was always available for second phase ball, thoroughly deserved his try and walked off with the Man of the Match award. There was no obvious Dick of the Day, so Adam Harrington got a Welcome Back pint as he returned to the side after a spell bothering trees in Bristol.

Southampton Rugby Club

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