Petersfield won 76-5 at Trojans to extend their unbeaten start to the season in Hampshire Counties One to nine games and remain at the top of the league.
In cold, dry conditions both teams took a little time to warm to their task.
Petersfield’s pack secured plenty of possession throughout the match, with Jackson Clark, Harley Orr, Dan Luff, Jack McCulloch, Zak Jenkins, Rhys Bowen, Karter Whittock and Liam Perkins having good games and providing the backline with a strong platform from which to launch their attacks.
Field’s scrum half Alex Duffus charged down a Trojans clearance kick off their tryline and pounced on the ball to score. Fly half Will Mathews added the conversion.
Right winger Andy Wood was next to score when he touchd down near the corner for an unconverted try.
Outside centre George Davis then broke through with fullback Tom Land on his shoulder – and they interchanged passes before Davis dotted down for an unconverted try.
Land ran from deep to link with left winger Ethan Ogilvie, who scored the next try. Mathews added the conversion. Clark then scored a try by the left post, with Mathews adding the extras.
The flood of tries continued with Wood adding a second from the right wing when he ran an angled line to near the right post. Matthews’ attempted conversion bounced back in field from the left post.
Centre Greg Jansen then broke out and with a mazy run wrong-footed two Trojans players to sashay his way to the line and convert his own try. Petersfield led 43-0 at half-time and had already secured the try bonus point.
Trojans’ half-time team talk must have had some effect as they tightened up their defence and pushed Petersfield’s attacks to the wings. With five minutes played a run across the field by Jansen and Ogilvie had Land outside at speed to round the desperate defence to dot down under the posts for Mathews to convert.
Just two minutes later Davis took the ball inside the home side’s half and grubber kicked through Trojans’ tightened defence and covered the metres at pace to pick up his ball to score. Mathews added the conversion.
Next to add to Trojans’ woes was McCulloch, who added to his impressive display by crashing through Trojans from 35 metres to score an unconverted try. Ogilvie then scored again from some crossfield running by Field’s back row that passed through a couple of players for him to complete the unconverted try.
Trojans, through some hard work and errors by Petersfield, won three penalties and chose to go for lineouts in the hope they would maul the ball over Field’s line. This resulted in a consolation unconverted try, which was scant reward for their dogged determination and effort.
Davis was then driven over from a maul in the right corner to score his hat-trick try, which Mathews converted.
Chris Todd