Just a week ago, the ground was hard and the air was warm, but the seasons are changing quickly at Hooks lane, the wind was gusting, the rain falling and the ground was soft once again, as Andover 2s blew into town.
A cancelled 1s fixture for the away side, gave a few of their returning stars a chance to get a bit of match time, but no one comes to Havant and gets an easy ride.
Numbers were good for selection this week, and for the first time in a while, an unlucky few would have to miss out. Havant is a great place to be at the moment and this adds to the competition and the fight for places, everyone will get their chance, and nobody will want to leave anything out there on the field when they get their chance to pull on the shirt.
AXV Captain Pete Living had the chance though to even the playing field this week, with a host of former Havant first team regulars and club Legends at his disposal. They may be a yard slower than some of there younger opposition, but these old heads are ahead of the game when it matters.
His right honourable Sam Wilson made the front row once again, alongside Havant staunch James Hewitt, completing the front row and fully filling the 3 shirt was Big Ben Lanigan. The journeyman not to be outdone by good friends Neil McRoberts and Graham Butterworth is now starting his second lap of the Hampshire clubs has he made his long-awaited return to Hooks Lane. Youngster Ben Powell sporting a new rugged look this week moved in from the flank to start in the second row with Dom “Lineker” Francis. Alex Sowerby shuffled through the back row to openside, as the human search engine Jon Barfoot added his experience to the No 8 shirt and Mick Bacon kept his place at 6 to conclude the forward pack. In the backs Grant Morris starts at scrum half to bring a wealth of experience to an already mature back line. Captain Pete living would Marshall again from fly half. Then it was just a dream for the housewives in the midfield as the Welsh wizard Leighton Davies made his first start of the season at inside centre to line up with the sunshine Kid Ryan Ray, who’s bronze skin would make even James McCann blush. Add Adam “Taff” Terry to the right wing and it was only the wind and rain that stopped the game having the crowd reminiscent of a Tom Jones concert. Thankfully hormones were brought back to earth as Pete living stuck with a Jock on the left wing as Dean Duthie returned to the eleven shirt. New boy and would be Man of the match Rob Eade completed the line-up at full back in a very different looking back line from the previous Chineham game.
Andover would take the first kick of the game with a strong wind advantage from the west. A few handling mistakes dominated the opening minutes as both teams came to terms with the wind and rain. A solid forward platform opened the game up as Morris, Living and Davies linked up well, a silky run from Sunny Ray gave Havant their first chance, but Duthie was unable to hold onto the ball and knocked on. The home side were able to camp out in the Andover half in the period that followed, and as early frustration set in for the visitors a few high tackles were thrown in, Taff Terry was the first player to be on the receiving end as he went down hard. As the Welshman left the field for his HIA he was replaced by Karl Pilkington impersonator Lloyd Sampson. Havant dug themselves in and it was not Long before the flying Scotsman was over the line with a good powerful run under the posts. Sampson took on the kicking duties and put Havant further into the lead. Havant were soon back in the Andover half, this time it was veteran Grant Morris that took a late high hit from the big Fijian No 8 this time the referee would not mess around and Andover forward saw red. Sampson was unlucky to miss the resulting penalty but as Andover tied to play the ball out following the miss, Havant were able to turn the ball over, Duthie was again in the right place as he powered over for his second try. Sampson was back in the points as he finally adjusted to the wind and slotted home his second kick.
A slight tear to his labia saw Duthie play no further part in the match, but as he repeatedly told the side-line spectators, he had done his job, and done it well .
The travelling north Hampshire side, were not down and out just yet, Havant could not quite link up as well as they did in the early periods, a resilient Andover started to push back hard and got a try and kick of their own before the half time whistle blew. A harsh but deserved warning that prompted a firm talk in the interval
Half Time Havant 14-7 Andover 2’s

Pete living restarted the game, Andover had struggled to use the wind to their advantage, but the Havant maestro had come back determined to pull the strings. The Havant pack just exploded into action. Simple but effective rugby started to put the away side against the cosh. Barfoot started the first attack as he picked up from the back of the scrum, a great offload saw Bacon make good ground to within a couple of meters, quick ball from Morris and Living put Big Ben Lanigan through…. You are simply not going to stop this human juggernaut from 5 meters out, Sampson again posted an easy 2 points under the sticks and Havant took control
Havant tightened their grip further, with another powerful forward display, Archie Bradford came on for Ben Powell, and another HIA to Alex Sowerby saw another returning warhorse Ed Gaught return to a Havant shirt. The home side were now looking to turn over every scrum, the extra power from and excellent finishing performances from the youngster Bradford and Gaught was taking its toll on a tiring Andover pack, Lineouts were poor as both hookers were blown up for not throwing straight, but another dominant period from Hav, led to another Lanigan score, the swirling wind saw Sampson miss this one, but the game was slipping away from the visitors. The Duke Ryan Marlborough was the next finisher to get a run out as he replaced Hewitt in a forward re shuffle
As pressure mounted Mick Bacon was quick out of the scrum to punish the Foxcotte lane fly half as he forced a handling error and touched the ball down, Sampson was oozing confidence now and converted again. Five minutes passed and Bacon was quick again to close in on the 10 with another tackle on the line, this time Dom Francis picked up the loose ball and poached a score from 2 inches out. Sampson again added the extras!
Andover did get some consolation points as the game fizzled out to an end, a hard tackle deemed late by the ref from Grant Morris saw the traveling side take a penalty try and the Havant stalwart receive a yellow card for his troubles. But the Game was over. As both teams formed a tunnel you could hear faint squeaks in the cold air that you could almost make out as a sentence about somebody getting bounced in what was believed to be a Scottish accent, but nobody could quite grasp the actual wording. Adam Terry was clapping although he was not sure what at.
Nonetheless a Havant win in a tough game that’s score did not reflect the battle that had taken place
Full Time Havant 40-14 Andover 2’s