Portsmouth remain on course for silverware as coach gets a nice 40th birthday present

Portsmouth remain on course to retain the Hampshire Bowl following their 50-19 semi-final win at Trojans.
Cameron Duffus. Picture: Chris MoorhouseCameron Duffus. Picture: Chris Moorhouse
Cameron Duffus. Picture: Chris Moorhouse

It provided the perfect 40th birthday present for senior coach Neil McRoberts.

They will now host Eastleigh in the final at Rugby camp on April 27.

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The senior coach feels the club is building momentum towards a big end to the season.

He said: ‘It was a great result stemming from a good team performance.

‘We imposed ourselves early and established a good lead early on.

‘This allowed us to relax, carry on playing our rugby and put more points on the board.

‘In our past two games our finishing has been clinical.

‘That wasn’t always the case during the league campaign.

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‘The other pleasing factor was our strong defence which gave us the platform to win the game.

‘If we can limit our opponent’s chances we know we have the firepower to hurt them at the other end.

Portsmouth were in the ascendancy from the start and established a 24-0 lead by half-time.

On 10 minutes a good break by Cam Duffus ended with Tim Snowden scoring wide out.

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Duffus added the conversion and knocked over a penalty soon afterwards.

Continuing to have territorial advantage Portsmouth added two more converted tries through Tom Harrison and Finn Parry.

In the second half Portsmouth added four more tries through Dan Sargeant, Anthony Fooks, Jonny Stoppard and Snowden, his second of the match.

McRoberts added: ‘We are all looking forward to a massive end to the season.

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‘Not only do we want to retain the Hampshire Bowl we also have one eye on getting to Twickenham in a national final.

‘That semi-final against Honiton at Rugby Camp next Saturday is another huge game.

‘There is a tremendous buzz about the club.

‘Beating Trojans in the manner we did was the perfect preparation.

‘It will be a tremendous achievement if we can reach a national final.’

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