Basingstoke onslaught leaves Fareham Heathens well beaten'¦Â Pumas lose to Farnborough

A painful first half gave Fareham Heathens far too much to do as they lost 47-15 at Basingstoke in the Hampshire League premier division.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Nov 2018, 15:01 BST
Updated 4th Nov 2018, 16:06 BST
Fareham Heathens lost to Basingstoke. Picture: Keith WoodlandFareham Heathens lost to Basingstoke. Picture: Keith Woodland
Fareham Heathens lost to Basingstoke. Picture: Keith Woodland

Heathens player coach Dave Wheaton was impressed with the hosts who top the table.

He said: '˜The speed of their recycled ball was impressive to see.

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'˜We struggled to keep them out and once the heads dropped we lost focus and errors galore became our norm.

'˜As a result we went into the break 47-0 down.

'˜In the second half it was totally different.

'˜We upped our intensity, controlled the ruck area and fed our backs the clean ball they needed.

'˜Showing greater belief the team put in a great second-half performance scoring three tries without reply.

'˜Yes we lost the game, and the damage was done in the first half, but the way the lads fought back was very encouraging.

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'˜We just need to be switched on more for the full 80 minutes.

'˜The lads deserved to come away with something for their efforts but some resilient defence from Basingstoke prevented us getting that all-important bonus-point fourth try.'

Locks Heath Pumas slipped to a 21-14 defeat against Farnborough in Hampshire League division one.

Farnborough started strongly and the Pumas found themselves against a well drilled unit and a strong wind. 

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This resulted in the visitors having a lot of territory and the Pumas conceded three penalties. 

But then the Pumas started to play running great lines and moving the ball well. 

Time and time again the back row of Jonathan Elsmore, Sam Floyd and James Campbell broke the line and linked up with the backs. 

This paid off in the 23rd minute when a move started in their own twenty-two ended with centre Lee Giles rounding his man to score. 

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Robbie Connell converted bringing the Pumas into the match, with them trailing 9-7 at the break.

However in the second half the Pumas failed to capitalise on the conditions and could not break Farnborough down. 

The visitors took command adding two tries in quick succession.

A losing bonus point went to Pumas following a try by substitute Will Quigley, with Connell converting. 

Pumas chairman George Winch said: '˜We showed great promise at various points in the match but failed to control the game well enough to produce a win.'