Portsmouth RFC end 33-month wait for an away victory with tense success at Trojans

Two penalties from Simon Morgan and an Anthony Fooks try gave them an 11-10 victory at Trojans yesterday.

Remarkably, it was Portsmouth’s first away league success since mid-January 2020. They lost the final two games of 2019/20 before the pandemic wrapped its tentacles around the sporting fixture list, and suffered 11 successive defeats on the road in last season’s London 3 SW campaign.

But in a new-look division, following a summer revamp by the RFU, Portsmouth held off late pressure to ensure head coach Matt Wake received a winning start to his competitive career at the club.

‘It was a really tight game, the scoreline says it all,’ Wake told The News. ‘It went right down to the last play.

‘Trojans played sensible rugby, but when we got the ball in our hands and got it out wide we looked dangerous.

‘I’m very, very pleased, but mostly pleased for the players - they’re the ones out there doing it.’

After conceding an early penalty, Portsmouth led 11-3 going into the closing stages.

They were put under considerable pressure, and two yellow cards in quick succession only added to that, taking them down to 13 players at one stage.

The pressure eventually told, but from Portsmouth’s kick off winger Duncan Steed - one of four debutants in the XV - claimed possession.

‘It’s always a big play when you can recover possession from your own kick off,’ said Wake. ‘So in the context of the game it was a massive play. We would have been under lots of pressure without the ball.’

Steed, who was voted Portsmouth’s man of the match by Wake, was joined in the starting XV by fellow new faces Yehia Khatib (prop), outside centre Josh Howell-Williams and ex-Southsea Nomads flanker Murray Hobson.

One key face absent at Trojans was skipper Max Clarke, with ‘absolute club stalwart’ Lee Chandler taking the captaincy duties.

‘Lee was excellent,’ said Wake. ‘He’s a really calm leader, an experienced player.’

Portsmouth are home to Petersfield - one of Wake’s former clubs - next weekend.

In the same division, Havant 2nds suffered a 50-12 defeat at Jersey in their opening fixture.