Basingstoke almost certainly expected an easier ride on Saturday, but the opening twenty minutes saw the two sides evenly matched around the park.

But it was Saints' Captain Pete Fox who opened the scoring when he crashed his way over from five yards. The second try came soon after, when fly half Smythe fed replacement Dave Ward at inside centre. Paul Rutherford came into the line from full back, drawing the defence away for Ward to dummy through the gap and cross under the posts. Darren Smythe added the extras to give Southampton a twelve point lead.

Pete Fox then added his second try in similar fashion to his first when he drove over from close range. Again Smythe added the conversion and Saints went into half time leading nineteen nil.

The second half saw Ian Duncan matching Foxy and adding two tries himself. The first came when he broke down a gap on the right wing and beat the defence to score in the corner. Darren Smythe put over an excellent effort from the touchline for the two points.

Dunc's second try saw him pop up in support after a good passage of play from the pack took the ball to within ten yards. But his real moment of glory came as the clock was winding down and thoughts on the touchline were turning to the recipient of the Toilet Seat.

Alan Butler made a great break down the left wing, leaving Duncs cheering in support from the halfway line. When Butler was tackled short of the line, Duncs realised he was needed and sprinted heroically to the breakdown. The ball was popped out early, so Duncan went outside Tony Bunday, who showed undiscovered Fijian flair to flick the ball onwards. Duncs, who had (somehow) timed his run perfectly, gathered the ball, crossed the try line... and promptly dropped it as he touched down.

Butler wrapped things up with a deserved try right at the death, breaking through a tackle and showing great pace to beat the defence to the line on the left. Smythe's final attempt missed, but he finished the day with an impressive four conversions from six, making the final score 38-0.

Man of the match went to John Scarboro, who was a constant threat at the lineout and stole lots of Basingstoke ball, while Alan Butler was a constant prescence round the park. The scrum worked well together, with Basingstoke wheeling under the pressure and going backwards.

An all round excellent team performance, against a team who thought they had the win in the bag. Well done lads!

Southampton Rugby Club

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