Alresford 19 – Southsea 13 (5th April 2025)
Alresford welcomed Southsea to the Arlebury on a glorious, balmy April afternoon for final game of the season.
Alresford kicked off the first half into a fairly strong headwind, and an attritional game quickly developed, with no quarter given by either team.
However, it was the home team who profited from a masterful attack platform from our scrum, to beat the away defence with our first try of the afternoon. The resulting conversion made it 7-0 to Alresford.
But Southsea were playing with a determination belying their league position and kept chipping away at the scoreboard. Two penalties were slotted over, and a cagey first half finished with the score at 7-6.
Buoyed by this, the away team kicked off the second half keen to continue their points momentum, and following a passage of scrappy play, crossed our try line. The resulting conversion made the score 7-13.
But, as has been demonstrated on numerous occasions this season, this Alresford side will not back down, and it was no surprise when our second try was scored. A missed conversion meant we were still behind at 12-13.
Roared on by an expectant and noisy home support, we continued to probe and search for the gap, and were duly rewarded just before the whistle with our third try. The resulting conversion made it 19-13.
And despite a nervy last few minutes, we held on for a superb and much deserved win, with the final score being: Alresford 19 – Southsea 13.
A momentous afternoon with our largest crowd of the season being treated to a superb game of rugby that left the result in doubt until the final whistle.
The team played their heart out as always – our pack was immense and has shown itself to be one of the finest in the league. Tom Rodwell, in his last game for the club, exemplified everything that we stand for, in always breaking the line, linking play and being rewarded with a try. Matt Moss did the unsung, dirty work that isn’t always noted and commented on, but he was superb. Jon Winser was everywhere , with some superb breaks. Elliot Holmes came on as an unaccustomed winger, but his speed and willingness to break tackles should be rightly admired. Ethan Fletcher has made the 12 shirt his own this year and puts in stellar performances week in and week out.
Finton Cobb has come in and imposed himself into the game more and more as the season has developed. Joel Maisey provided the link between forwards and backs all afternoon and did so brilliantly. Josh Wilkes ran all afternoon, tackled everything that moved, and made himself a thoroughly acceptable nuisance. And Harry Parkinson, who despite a niggling ankle injury, came back on after emergency re strapping by our relief physio, and continued his exemplary work ethic to score the winning try.
It has been a season of ups and downs, but we can never be faulted for our work ethic, our teamwork, our heart and a fervent desire to never give up, never back down, and let every team that we play know that they have been in a game, regardless of the result.
The rest of the league now know who we are and what we can accomplish. We should know that we can, and will, be a force in this league next season, and I hope that the boys, the supporters, and anyone connected with the club, acknowledges this, accepts this, and takes that mentality into preseason training.
