Andover 2s 10 - 42 Havant AXV

A mild but windy day at Andover saw our Havant AXV arrive for a lately scheduled visit to their home ground, Hav’s planned visit to Andover’s neighbours Overton was forfeited after the North Hampshire side could not field a team , as was the Home sides proposed tie against another of Havant’s future Hampshire 2 opposition , Isle of Wight.
Late injuries, and a few unexplained absences from Havant’s 1st XV and Dolphins saw a late shake up to the published sides that left Captain James Hewitt reaching for the little Black book arguably a bit too early in the season . Hewitt had hoped he could tuck the sacred 3rd team bible away for the year, after the positive numbers so far this season but it looks like it will be required close at hand, come friday eveings in the Hewitt household as the winter sets in and the flakes start to fall . Nonetheless the cobwebs were blown out and a seasoned team of strapped up old faithful’s and promising youngsters shored up the ranks and enjoyed a standard spirited performance at the Andover grit pit.
The Honourable front row saw Lord Mayor of Hayling Island Sam Wilson Line up with Master vice president James Hewitt, and Musician, come VW fanatic, come Traveller, come kite surfer, come pirate looking boat skipper as Jake Biggs made his first appearance of the season. Biggs after a well-documented exhausting preseason training schedule, Had to miss the first two games as he fulfilled his TV commitments and Rockstar life style. Ben Penrose put his injury blip behind him to line up in the second row with Lothario Matt Godwin. Man of the Match Penrose was outstanding in his first senior run out and looks to be an exciting prospect for the future
The back row had a well formed combination of Experience in Steve whittle at 7 , youngster and club legend Grant Morris’s apparent doppelganger Harry Parker at 6, and the Giant kiwi Aron Evers at 8 .
Cam McGuigan set the tempo at scrum half , Simon Morgan jetted in from his international commitments to get some game time at 10 , Steve Stapleton showed no signs of slowing down his mid life growth spurt , as he appeared from his summer break in a fine shape , to partner Karl Pilkington impersonator Lloyd Sampson in the middle of the park . An ethnic mix of Buster Osbourne, Dean Duthie and Welshman Adam Terry made up the back three.
Havant received the first kick off playing down the slope , the usual safe hands of Godwin collected the ball and Havant started the attack, a few early exchanges of possession saw Hav take first blood as stalwart Steve Whittle took the ball over from close range, Morgan fired over the extras and took they lead. Andover were quick to respond, a silly penalty lead to a good kick to touch, and the home side were well drilled in their driving maul from the line out to peg back the lead to within two points .
Both teams battled hard for the next periods of play, and the game looked to be evenly matched , but a great breakaway from Duthie on the left wing made 40 yards and Sampson’s good support was rewarded as he took the ball 10 meters out to take the ball over, Morgan again was deadly from the kicking tee and Havant extended there lead . Andover pushed hard again , another well executed driving maul , caught some Havant players ball watching and the team in black closed the gap a little on the visitors. As the game reached the 30 minute mark Havant picked up the pace , McGuigan kept the ball moving at a good speed as he set the tempo for the remaining 50 mins , Morgan pulled the strings, and showed a great selection of ball handling skills with both the hands and the feet. Steve Stapleton was next on the score sheet , as he showed some of the running lines that won him so many first team caps in years gone by , Morgan took another easy 2 in front of the posts and Havant pushed on .
The second half proved to be a little slower, Havant now attacking up the hill , and Andover running out of steam a little , the starting 15 continued for a the first 15mins of the half as the game faltered into a stalemate. Hewitt made changes that saw newcomer Finn come into the backs in place of Osborne , and he made an immediate impact from the bench and possibly scoring with his first touch of the game, the kick was just another formality for Morgan and Havant were up and running again.Mick Bacon replaced Matt godwin as he tries to put his injury woes behind him for a 15 minute run out in the back row at 8
As the game then opened up The flying Scotsman Dean Duthie was back in the try’s following probably his longest baron spell since joining the club, seemingly putting his catching phobia behind him this season after a summer break of beach games and counciling ,Andover could simply not cope with Highlanders pace up the hill as he went on to score the last two tries of the Havant rout , Morgan again was deadeye with the boot and more noticeably from long range with the last kick of the game and completes a 6 from 6 success rate for the match .
Andover 2s 10-42 Havant AXV
The Sampson/Duthie partnership was back together and in the points for the first time this season,as they were instrumental today in the Havant attack , Perhaps a few incidents of white line fever from both parties lead to a few unfortunate jibes of greediness beytween the two , But the loving pair made up after the game with a nice cuddle and a very concearning gaze into each others eyes , as they planned to meet up during the week to go through a few new moves and passing drills ?? ( perhaps the use of there handbags might be a better option than the ball to keep things sharp between the two)