Petersfield 2nd XV (26) v Eastleigh 3rd XV (5)

In a sign of things to come, Field got off to an inauspicious start with a failed kick off, but recovered the error by winning the resulting scrum against the head. It took thirty minutes for Field to score despite having the bulk of play and territory with Eastleigh making breaks into Field’s half. However, neither team were able to take advantage of their possession. Field’s early overenthusiasm at the breakdown leading to a number of penalties that allowed Eastleigh to clear their lines and both teams falling prey to handling errors that halted promising moves in their tracks. On the positive side for the home team, the Field scrum looked very solid throughout the game.

It was from a scrum outside the Eastleigh 22 that Field scored their first try. The solid platform provided the backs with clean ball and the outside centre running at pace from deep took a feed from the stand-off and ran a good line through the flat-footed defence to dot down under the posts. Wing Haslett took the extras.

The second half continued in much the same vein as the first, but the score in the first half appeared to have settled Field. As a result they looked better able to cope with the conditions playing up the pitch than Eastleigh had. However, Eastleigh scored next when a fly-hacked ball was pounced on over the line. The missed conversion left Field with a narrow lead.

At the start of the last quarter Field broke away from their guests with another converted try and kept the scoreboard ticking over until the final whistle. Haslett scored Field’s second, benefiting from powerful running by his fellow backs that tore apart the defence. The third was almost a carbon copy of the first, the only difference this time being that the defence managed to lay hands on the attacker. The fourth and final try came from the pack who followed up Holroyd’s kick through to set up the phases inches from the line. Kemp finally breaking through to score.

The win consolidates the 2nd XV's second place in the league, but they remain 10-points behind leaders Tottonians 4th XV. Field have a game in hand and must win this and their head-to-head against Totts, postponed from 18th January, if they are to stay in touching distance.