Not so plastic fantastic

After a few weeks rest due to fixture gaps and bad weather ,Havant AXV were back in action at Hooks lane for the first time in a month. A wealth of young bucks and talent were available through all senior squads as arguably the strongest three club sides combined for a generation were named to protect the reputations at the summit of their respective leagues.
Captain and Master mariner James Hewitt chose to delay his come back from paternity leave, and field a younger looking side to ensure fellow title chasers Winchester II were held at bay on Havant’s fast playing 14G pitch, but it turned out the mid-Hampshire outfit had arrived with plans of their own.
Sam Cutting managed to press the correct poll option this week so was available at loose head following his fat finger syndrome during the last selection. He started in the front row with another surprising availability in the form of Jonny Hill-Mortimer as he made a rare start on a Saturday afternoon. There are rumours he will sell his body to the highest bidder, so ironically Justin Powell was available at Hooker. The International rugby starlet and former first teamer was back from a broken hand injury and run of fishing trips to offer a bit of experience and complete the front row. The usual second row pairing of Dom “he loves a drink” Francis and Matt “he loves his wife” Godwin were rested from the starting line together as Godwin started and Francis finished the in a share of the number 4 shirt to ensure they both stay fit for the up and coming fixture run. Big navy veteran Matt Thurston made his AXV debut at number 5 with a solid performance in the row.
Mick Bacon and Jon Barfoot again kept their shirts after linking up well together in recent games and this week were joined in the back row by the promising future prospect of Alex Sowerby. Young Sowerby making his comeback from a nasty shoulder injury that has scuppered what looked to be a promising season early on provided a bit of youth in the 7 shirt to complete the pack .
Nathan Evans made another great step from the academy to play his first senior game of the season, looks to have progressed very well since his few AXV appearances last season . He was selected at scrum half to add a bit a pace and momentum. A last minute change to the advertised side saw Steve “Swiss Tony” Stapleton take the 10 shirt for the second consecutive game. Stapes this week in an inspiring team talk said that “winning a rugby game on the AGP is like making love to a beautiful woman, you have to go a bit harder and faster than you can manage , and if you play for too long it starts to burn” The welsh wizard Leighton returned from his mid-season break in Tenerife to sing in the rain with the master of the drop shoulder Rob Andrew in the midfield, Calcutta Cupless Scotsman Dean Duthie took up his usual birth on the left wing , to complete a back three with St David himself Adam Terry and the apparently pacey Sam Walker on the right.
As previously mentioned a finishing trio of AXV regulars in the hands of Francis, His Right Honourable Sam Wilson, Muff Elvey were joined on the bench with Lewis Woolcombe , as he thankfully got through the week without any mystery illnesses.
Stand in skipper Bacon, won the toss and chose to face the on coming wind and sun for the first half , so Winchester took the kick off and started the game. A poor kick only found its way as far as Powell and Havant took steed and put the game immediately to the away side. It was apparent from the start that both sides were evenly matched, Havant pushed hard and Winchester tackled well. The set plays were dominated by the home side, especially in the scrum and it was not long till the forwards pushed the visitors back and took the lead through a well deserved score by the big man Jonny Hill-Mortimer. Stapleton was unable to convert but the home side were ahead. Winch came straight back in the 10 minutes that followed and some questionable commitment in the tackle made it easy and eventually the away side took the lead through a converted try in Havant’s right hand corner. Another big battle followed, but as Winchester started to gain advantage with what seemed to be a few offside advantages that went un noticed , Havant still managed to hold on and the overwhelming scrum advantage was till apparent to ensure Havant took the lead again , This time strength of Justin Powell was the provider has he took the ball over from close range , Stapleton kicked the ball just short again as the wind swirled around the pitch.
Changes had already been made as Cutting took a blow to the head and cut short his game early on, so Woolcombe was bought on in the front row . With 30 minutes gone Winchester took the lead again by two points as this time they missed the extras following the try. Half Time Havant AXV 10-12 Winchester II .
Hill-Mortimer was replaced by Wilson and Francis took over the reins from Godwin as the seco
Havant were out of the blocks quickly in the second half and it was not long till Steve Stapleton , ran an audacious line inside to score. Havant had chosen to scrum down for 3 consecutive penalty’s on the Winchester 5m line but were just unable to get the ball over , so as they fed the ball out wide Stapleton cut back in and restored the lead again as he converted his own score but the evenly match half was far from over as another tackling horror show ensured Winchester took the lead again after 60 minutes . Then the wheels fell off the Havant wagon , Winchester done well to keep possession and starve the Havant player of the ball, slowly they chipped away and score two more trys to put the game to bed , A consolation try for havant at the end ensured a bonus point , that will keep them top of the league
Full Time Havant AXV 22-34 Winchester II

By Mick Bacon