‘Alien feeling’ for Gosport & Fareham as winning run is ended by new leaders Havant 2nds

Gosport & Fareham RFC reported an ‘alien feeling’ after their winning start to the Hampshire Premier season was ended by new leaders Havant 2nds.
By Simon Carter
Published 8th Nov 2021, 14:11 BST
A sea of Havant shirts descends on Gosport & Fareham's Ben Smith. Picture: Mike CooterA sea of Havant shirts descends on Gosport & Fareham's Ben Smith. Picture: Mike Cooter
A sea of Havant shirts descends on Gosport & Fareham's Ben Smith. Picture: Mike Cooter

A late try from Jeremy Smith gave Havant a seventh successive win which took them two points clear of Gosport at the top.

Gosport had let slip a 13-0 lead to fall 26-13 behind, only to hit back and level before conceding again.

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Mark Pollard’s men conceded almost as many points to Havant - 31 - as they had in their previous six league matches in 2021/22 (32).

Havant's Matt Whitehead in possession. Picture: Mike CooterHavant's Matt Whitehead in possession. Picture: Mike Cooter
Havant's Matt Whitehead in possession. Picture: Mike Cooter

‘We knew it would be our toughest game of the season, and that’s exactly what it was,’ explained Pollard.

‘It was a good game and it was tough to be on the losing side of it. We knew Havant would be strong, and they were. They played for the full 80 minutes.

‘At 26-26 with five minutes to go we were reasonably confident we could get a result, but some good play by Havant saw them sneak the win.

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‘It was heartbreaking for us, and an alien feeling after starting with six wins on the bounce.

Alex Duncombe with another successful kick for Gosport & Fareham. Picture: Mike CooterAlex Duncombe with another successful kick for Gosport & Fareham. Picture: Mike Cooter
Alex Duncombe with another successful kick for Gosport & Fareham. Picture: Mike Cooter

‘We won’t dwell on it for too long - we’ll pick ourselves up and go again against New Milton next week.

‘At Bognor two weeks ago we were losing but knuckled down and came back to win, and here we showed grit and determination to come from 26-13 down to level.

‘That’s the standards we have set ourselves. We want to finish in the top two - ideally, we want to be the top team, we want to win the league.’

Gosport’s three tries came from Ian Grice, Simon Trivett and Ash Wakefield with Alex Duncombe providing the other points from penalties and conversions.