Horrod's pride as Nomads scare title-chasers

The two sides finished level at 23-23 following a thrilling clash at Furze Lane.

Horrod reckons Romsey are capable of playing in the top tier of the county competition.

And with that in mind, he is excited by Nomads’ prospects for the remainder of the season.

‘The lads put in a great shift,’ said the skipper.

‘Our forwards were superb, dominating the set-pieces and in the loose.

‘Romsey are a good side and should be playing the next level up, so it is great to get the draw.

‘We could have stolen a win at the end and are continuing to grow as a team.

‘Performances like this show we can cause any team in our league problems.’

Nomads trailed 15-6 at half-time – with Jonathan Branston knocking over two penalties.

The hosts were fired up in the second half and hit back quickly with a try from Daniel Hurry.

England Deaf star Aaron Beesley added two push-over scores – the first of which was converted by Branston.

The second came minutes from the end but Branston could not kick the conversion that would have given Nomads a memorable win.

Tim Clouter was named man of the match for his impressive work-rate.

Elsewhere, Portsmouth proved far too powerful for New Milton & District as they stormed to a 71-8 London three south west win.

The Rugby Camp outfit ran in 11 tries as they overwhelmed their hosts.

Anthony Fooks recorded a hat-trick, while Alex Duffus, Greg Houlihan and Stuart Davies notched doubles.

Chad Ward and Will Brock also touched down.

Simon Morgan kicked seven conversions – with Lee Chandler adding another.

‘After giving them an early penalty we settled into our game,’ said Portsmouth director of rugby Jim Pearce.

‘Up front we proved too strong for them.

‘Once we started running straight with power we got over the gain line and put them under pressure.

‘Everybody played their part and our tries came from a good mix of forward and backs play.

‘All in all it was a good day and you can’t knock a team after winning in the fashion we did.

United Services strengthened their position at the top of Hampshire one with a 40-24 victory at Overton.