Alresford 5 – Alton 58 (Saturday 28th September)
Alresford welcomed Alton to the Arlebury on a sunny September afternoon for our first home match of the season, with our squad keen to test our mettle against one of the big contenders in our league.
Alresford kicked off the first half with both teams keen to get the upper hand on a pitch that encouraged running rugby.
The away team was quick to show their attacking flair with a well worked try after 2 minutes. The conversion was missed – 0-5 to Alton.
Despite some heroic defending, Alton were quick to confirm their ascendancy and a second unconverted try followed shortly after – 0-10. The third try, this time converted, made the score 0-17 to Alton.
But the home team remained positive and undaunted in the face of relentless pressure, and it wasn’t until just before halftime that Alton scored their bonus point try, with the conversion making it 0-24 at the break.
Alton kicked off the second half in the same frame of mind, and scored tries at regular intervals throughout the half. But the scoreboard doesn’t reflect the commitment, the defensive resolve and the sheer refusal of Alresford to lie down, who kept up their attacking intent with a thoroughly deserved unconverted try being scored just before the full-time whistle.
Final score;
Alresford 5 – Alton 58
Someone reading just the scoreline would query the report written, but a youthful side still learning to play as a time against a team that were 3 leagues higher than us last season performed superbly, with our defence putting in shift after shift against a relentless attack. Whilst we acknowledge the score, we know that there is much to work on, but that there are many positives that we can use and take forward into our upcoming training sessions, and our future games.
Our thanks to Alton, and we look forward to the return fixture in December.
The league breaks for a week, with our next game on 12th October, away to Winchester III.