Alresford 12 – Fawley 26 [18th October 2025]
Alresford RFC produced a spirited display at Arlebury Park, scoring twice and showing real progress despite a 12–26 defeat to unbeaten Fawley.
Alresford welcomed Fawley to a very blustery Arlebury Park for our third game of the season, keen to show an improvement on last weeks performance.
The home team kicked off the first half, and an attritional first fifteen minutes passed, as both teams sought ascendancy, particularly up front.
However, it was Fawley who made the first breakthrough after 16 minutes as their pacy back line found a gap out wide and scored the first try of the afternoon. The resulting conversion made the score 0-7 to the away team.
And ten minutes later, the same route resulted in a second Fawley try – the conversion making it 0-14.
But our resilience in the face of adversity continues to impress, and just before half-time, Alresford scored our first try of the afternoon, following ferocious work from the forwards. The resulting conversion made the score at halftime;
Alresford 7 – Fawley 14.
The away team kicked off the second half and it was they who scored their third try of the afternoon, 10 minutes into the second half. With the conversion, their lead now increased to 21-7.
And a fourth try followed shortly after, as Fawley showed why they are unbeaten in the league so far. The conversion was missed, but the score was now 26-7.
But the last word of the afternoon was an Alresford one, as the home team were rewarded for their endeavours with their second try. Although unconverted, this made the final score;
Alresford 12 – Fawley 26.
Although the scoreboard may not show it, this was a superb performance from an Alresford team that has been affected by injuries this season and has been unable to put out a settled team. But the pack were as ever a menacing force and never gave an in, both forwards and backs defended ferociously and never took a backward step, our back line was fluid and broke the gain line repeatedly, and the heart and desire of the entire squad never faded from minute 1 to minute 80.
Today’s performance showed that we belong in this league and can compete with any teams, no matter their position in the table. It is rare that you receive compliments from the away team, but Fawley were gracious with their praise and acknowledgment of a game played to its maximum level.
We have blooded a number of new players so far this season, and as players return from injury, we should acknowledge that we are now building a squad with the ability to take on any team in the league.
There are areas to work on, but they can be addressed in training – but the self belief, teamwork, positivity and rugby ability are developing naturally, and despite having lost our first three games, the shoots of growth are there, and we know we can, and will get better.
Our thanks to Fawley for the match, our best wishes for the rest of the season and we look forward to the return fixture in January.