Hampshire Counties One rugby: Ellingham & Ringwood RFC beat Basingstoke RFC

Hampshire Counties One

Ellingham & Ringwood RFC 32

Basingstoke RFC 19

ELLINGHAM & Ringwood made it two wins from three in their first home game of the season with a 32-19 victory over Basingstoke.

The two sides have never shared a league before, meaning they knew little about each other.

Ellingham started well with a promising five-minute period of possession, during which they worked through the phases, retaining possession well. The pressure culminated in a penalty in front of the posts, which the ever-reliable Chris Frost converted.

Basingstoke returned well after the restart and kept Ellingham camped at the new Specsavers End for a protracted period.

Finally, Ellingham broke free and moved up the field to win a penalty. The side kicked for the corner this time, and Adam Payne crashed over from the subsequent catch and drive.

Basingstoke then demonstrated their strength, scoring the next two tries through virtually identical mauls from line-outs in Ellingham’s 22.

The contest remained finely balanced in the second half, with both sides trying to attack in the autumn sunshine.

Ellingham scored a further try through number nine Lewis Nicholl, but Basingstoke held the lead with barely 10 minutes left on the clock.

Chris Frost kicked a vital penalty at the Specsavers End to level the scores at 19 apiece.

Soon after, Ellingham’s backs created space out wide for a man of the match, Hugo Leigh-Watts. Despite Basingstoke’s defensive efforts, Leigh-Watts used his power to score in front of the home crowd.

Another penalty a few minutes later built an eight-point, leaving Basingstoke to chase the game, and a good transition from an error yielded a second try for front-row Payne, this time from out on the wing, to rubber-stamp the victory.

Ellingham plays away from home against Trojans on Saturday at 3pm.

Ellingham & Ringwood: A. Payne, S. Cushine-Palmer, T. Benevento, C. Scott, R. McNally, C. Hancock, C. Hills, L. Nicholls, B. Evans, T. Veneroso, H. Leigh-Watts, A. Higgins, C. Seaby, C. Frost, C. Jeffes. Subs: B. Carey, C. Davis.