Havant Hold Firm against the Mariners

The game began with early pressure from Havant after a knock-on gifted them the first scrum, but the Navy quickly settled. A solid Navy scrum win inside their own 22 allowed them to clear to touch, and from the resulting lineout the backs moved the ball sharply to gain territory. A quick pick-and-go from the scrum-half, Jonny Acaster, followed by a pop forced Havant offside, giving the Mariners a penalty and a kick to the corner. Havant, however, stole the lineout and cleared their lines. 

The early exchanges saw both sides trading possession, but it was the Navy who struck first. From halfway, Captain, Matt Horton, spotted space and beat the defence to score a try, converting his own effort to give Navy the early lead. 

Havant responded quickly from the restart, using one-up runners to force a penalty when Navy failed to roll away. Kicking to the corner, Havant drove a maul to within a metre of the line, but the Navy showed their determination to turn the ball over and clear upfield. The reprieve was short-lived as Havant recycled quickly from a ruck and moved the ball wide to finish in the corner. The try was converted and levelled the field. 

The Mariners leapt highest and gathered their own restart and attacked down the wing, but a forward pass halted the attack and awarded Havant a scrum. After a brief injury stoppage and a strong defensive stand from the Navy against an eight pick-and-go, the Navy regained possession. Quick hands along the line opened space for flanker, Harry Hales, to finish in the corner. The conversion drifted wide. 

Havant refused to tire. From a scrum they moved the ball downfield and crossed the line, only for Navy’s defence to hold the ball up. From the goal-line dropout Havant stayed patient, switching direction to squeeze into the corner for an unconverted try. Their pressure continued to build, and just before half-time Havant worked the ball wide once more to score in the corner, taking the lead into the half time with the score at 17 - 12. 

The second half began with both teams conceding a string of offside penalties before Havant settled first. Sustained pressure led to another well-worked try in the corner, extending the lead to 22 - 12. 

Fatigue began to creep into the Navy defence, allowing Havant to find space. However, the Mariner’s line held firm and eventually forced a kick. Gathering the ball, the Navy countered. A breaking through for replacement, Marley Emtage, allowed him to power over for an unconverted try. 

Regaining their momentum, the Mariners spent a period camped in Havant’s half. Havant briefly regained possession and attempted to relieve pressure by kicking to touch, but Navy’s defence and breakdown work kept them pinned back. Eventually Havant fought their way into the Navy 22, producing a swift offload from a tackle to score under the posts. 

Discipline proved costly for Navy. Repeated offsides during a penalty phase resulted in two yellow cards for Harry Hales, and prop, Sam Winfield, reducing them to 13 players. Havant capitalised immediately, striking quickly from the restart and finishing another try in the corner just moments after their previous effort. 

Short-handed but determined, the Navy kept fighting. A kicking game drove them back upfield and a Havant penalty handed them momentum. The Mariners seized the opportunity, working the ball well for Ed Gaught to cross for a converted try. 

The energy continued as Navy struck again almost immediately from the restart. Cameron Crawford danced his way up the field to score, with Horton adding the conversion. 

At full time under the floodlights at Havant, both sides had shown grit and determination in a physical contest that flowed throughout the evening. Despite the Navy’s best efforts, Havant came through the challenge winning 32 – 31! 

Mariners: S Winfield, E Gaught, P Price; C Otway, A Riley; M Jones, H Hales, J McLauchlan;  

J Acaster, J Parsons, C Campbell, M Southern, D Waryck, E Boden, M Horton (C). 

Replacements: Tom Blackburn, Chris Hart, Owen Doyle, Joshua Twigger, Cameron Crawford, Marley Emtage.