Winchester Vets 9-29 Havant Mariners

Finally a bit of sustained rainfall as the autumn months draw upon us and enough water to soften the ground so the old boys in Hampshire rugby could get down and have a good old fashion battle the way they love and know how.
Havant Mariners took to the field today in defence of what is certainly becoming “their” Hampshire cup, after dominating the competition for the last three years. Winchester with the home advantage must have fancied their chances after only a narrow defeat to last year’s finalists Portsmouth in 18/19 campain and a thumping 55-5 victory over Fordingbridge in round 1 last week .
Havant’s preparations were scuppered a bit during the lead up to the game as the selected team started to pick up mysterious illnesses as the week progressed . Jamie “flakey” libby , suffering from a couple of weeks of malnourishment took his doctors advise and decided to head down to HRFC and feast on some medicine as Dr Paddy Watson served up the sponsors lunch. Sid Claffy’s travel sickness is still an issue as he heads into the 19/20 season with seemingly no cure and it was “All about the ribs” as Jon Barfoot failed an early morning fitness test.
Still, Havant looked in good shape and showed the sort of strength in depth they will need to make it 4 in a row. Captain James Hewitt was again in charge to take on the challenge, but he will be concerned, as his authority took a bit of a knock after the game , with a certain winger in his squad who shall remain unnamed for his safety , showing disrespect and insubordination to his Master whilst in possession of the converted Duty Boy Jacket. The incident is bound to end up in a court summons so keep one eye on the Havant newsletters for weekly updates to how the story unfolds.
The meanest looking man at Havant Justin Powell, was due to start the game but heavy traffic on the M27 on his way back from London ( I would imagine his sat nav needs an update) as he arrived 5 minutes into the game and replaced finisher Jason “here I am Master” Baldock in the front row to line up alongside James Hewitt and Darren Kingham-Scott. It was great to see DKS enjoying the game and playing with a smile on his face, and noticeably even more so at scrum time when his very very good friend and second row team mate Big Dom Francis comfortably put his head between his legs. Francis joined up in the second row with tough tackling Matt Godwin as he made himself available after a run of romantic weekend breaks. The Back row was unfamiliar for the Mariners , but full of class and leadership as Grant “Gandalf the great” Morris show his versatility at 6 , alongside 2017 Come dine with me champion, club compare and all round great guy Graham Butterworth at 8. Mick Bacon returned from his injury lay off and slotted in at 7 to complete the trio.
The backs lined up with a distinctive streak of silver running through it , with the exception of Matt Davis at 9 who would love any colour hair let alone some grey, it can only be described as a mature looking back line. The midfield , was starting to become like a George Clooney lookalike audition. With Pete Living at stand-off , Welshman Leighton Davies at 12 and Steve “ Swiss Tony” Stapleton at 13 all bolstered by their back replacement in waiting Rob Andrew, would have turned the housewives of Winchester wild had news got out of there apperence together . Stapleton who is believed to say his rugby is "very much like making love to a beautiful woman , you have to take your time, not move too fast , probe into some deep dark holes and off load your balls as quick as you can". Excellent advise we are sure from the Havant legend. The starting wing backs looked familiar of recent seasons as Tom Merritt, Dean Duthie and Adam Terry made it a true Triple Crown line up in the back three.
As the ref blew is first whistle Havant took the opening kick of the game, Living was unable to find his range early and the ball dropped straight out of play, as the scrum on the halfway was called back Havant showed there early intent and made it difficult in the scrum , the home team kept possession following their put in and worked neatly around the fringes in their attack , the Havant forwards soaked up the pressure and stopped them moving the ball out wide. As Winchester gained momentum Havant’s discipline was questioned and a penalty was awarded , the home team took the kick and the lead.
Havant Came back within 5 and pushed Winchester hard , some neat forward play sucked the North Hampshire men in and Davis was quick to feed the ball out wide, a lovely switch in the midfield between Davies and Swiss Tony saw Terry join the attack and feed Duthie over for a try , Merritt narrowly missed the kick but Havant took the lead. 3-5 . The next few phases of play were dominated by Havant as the referee became frustrated with the home teams discipline and Winchester found themselves down to 13 men. Havant turned the screw and try’s from Davies and Butterworth put a bit of breathing space between the two teams , Merritt got is kicking tally underway with his third kick as he finally found his range and Havant headed towards half time with a healthy lead. With a few minutes to go in the first Half , Havant’s discipline was now also being asked questions Captain James Hewitt looked to take the brunt of some continuous infringements and saw yellow then another silly penalty was awarded in front of the Havant Posts as the home team found themselves at full strength again , The kick went over and the lead was reduced . Half Time Winchester Vets 6 – 17 Havant Mariners.
The second Half started as the first finished with a slight home team advantage , the Winchester forwards were finding a bit of rhythm again. Welshman Davies found himself in the bin but Havant were now playing down the hill, they conceded another 3 points to another cheap penalty before they really started to test Winchester again. As the opening 20 minutes of the half became a bit stale in the middle of the park Havant final clicked again, but by doing what they do best up front and taking the game to Winchester they took control , with Hewitt now back on the field and Scrum half Davis back in the attack at 9 after filling in as hooker, Havant threaded the ball out to Duthie once more and extended their lead , there is no stopping the flying Scotsman when he finally gets the ball in hand. Merritt this time hit the posts and failed to convert. Havant’s true grit and determination really showed through in the last 20 minutes , Stapleton was the first to be given a yellow card , for what the ref described as a variation of offences , Bacon was forced off with a head injury and was replaced by Doug Elvy, then Francis was also binned for foul play , DKS was extremely quick to follow his good friend off to check he was ok and was replaced by Baldock with 10 minutes to go. Winchester pushed the 13 men of Havant hard and did eventually get the ball over the line, only to be held up by the pink boots of Living and the shovelesc hand of Godwin . Finally Havant cleared their lines after some outstanding defensive work from “Muff” Elvy and Graham Butterworth, a long kick down field and chase from Living saw the fly half who in fairness is not renowned for his tackling , Make a great block on the Winchester full back as he tried to return. Some spectators close by described the tackle to what looked like a Jack Russell on heat but Pete Living after the game denied any sighting of his lipstick due the falling temperature. Nonetheless the home team were pinned back and 13 man Havant took the game to them , only for Elvy to go over for a well deserved try following a fantastic 15 minutes on the field. Merritt finished off the proceedings and the Mariners pushed onto the next round . Final Score Winchester Vets 9-29 Havant Mariners