The Pumas responded with a try of their own, but Southampton extended their lead after a solid couple of drives from the pack. The ball then went out to the backs who combined well to cut through the defence with Ryan Keary scoring under the posts.

Keary rounded off the scoring in the first half with an excellent penalty struck from just inside the Pumas' half.

Despite a comfortable lead at halftime, Southampton managed to allow Locksheath back into the game with a try early in the second half. Things got worse as Pumas' number eight also forced his way over the line.

Ryan Keary put a penalty over to take Southampton to 23 points, but Locksheath exploited some questionable Southampton tackling to take the lead for the first time at 22-23, with ten minutes remaining.

But Southampton went back to what they knew and controlled the game through their forwards. They set the ball up inside the Locksheath 22 with Keary sat back in the pocket, but the defence were so far offside they closed down his drop goal with ease. But Keary did add a penalty to regain the lead with five minutes on the clock.

It was then Southampton's turn to benefit from some dodgy refereeing as Locksheath were held up over the line but the resulting scrum was awarded to Southampton - giving the visitors a chance to clear their lines and see off the threat.

So Southampton start the season with a win, but they failed to kill off the game and almost let it slip against a confident Locksheath side who refused to give up.

Tom Jackson took the man of the match award for his excellent work at the breakdown, while Mark Waterer also stood out with some great counter attacks.

Southampton face Overton at home next Saturday.