In Counties One, blustery conditions saw Sandown & Shanklin Hurricanes win 57-14 at home to Eastleigh. There were tries for debutant, Theo Macann, Ben Kulik, player-of-the-match, Matt Miselbach, Ash Smith, and Harry Thomas. Max Fletcher and Michael Barrett scored 2 tries apiece. Five conversions came from the boot of Ant Burr and another from Max Fletcher. Josh Ford made his debut and promises a bright future in the team.

Ventnor secured a comprehensive 64-12 home win over Andover in Hants Counties Division Three at windswept Watcombe. Fly-half, Luke Butler co-ordinated play to become one-way traffic as Max Wheeler, player-of-the-match, Tom Branagh, and Tom Crews put Josh Braham over for the first try, which Crews converted. Branagh grabbed his first with a powerful run before skipper, Lewy Morton, unselfishly put Jason Coltham over for a third.

Hayden Lythgoe was the next beneficiary of slick passing to race in down the left to touch down for Ventnor’s fourth.

Jack Rushton, Lewis Jones and Dan Lythgoe provided a solid scrum, with Morton and Joe Coghlan dominating lineouts. Ventnor were getting plenty of ball for Ben Souter to distribute and some close-in play provided Jacob Jordan a chance to show his power and pace to score twice, before Braham and Branagh grabbed two more to reach half-time with the incredible score of 52–0.

An expectant crowd, and new conditions favoured the visitors after the break, but Ventnor scored first. Harvey Wheeler, Jones and Will Broomfield used their power to gain territory and provide clean ball for Butler to put Branagh over for his hat-trick. A rib-injury saw Lythgoe leave the field, and the all-action pairing of George Collett and Jack Gilbey came on to provide the support that Ventnor’s power-running game demanded.

The Islanders’ defence was tested as the opposition began to dominate territory with their kicking game, and they managed a couple of tries from close in before a sweeping move upfield put Branagh in for his fourth try to finish the game. In all, Ventnor scored ten tries with Crews converting seven of them despite the difficult conditions.

Coach, Damien Marriott, added, after the game: “Really proud of the lads today. We spoke in pre-season about setting standards, and this performance showed what happens when we bring energy, accuracy and discipline.”

Also in Counties Three, Isle of Wight narrowly lost 25-19 away at Alton, with a strong wind seeing Alton lead 25-0 at the break.

A motivational half-time chat, and wind advantage, saw George Huish glide in to score, but solid defence kept the Islanders at bay until 12 minutes to go. Skipper, Luke Blackman, scored, with Huish converting, and, with an Alton infringement, Huish scored again. With conversion, the gap narrowed to 25-19, seeing desperate defence, including holding up a possible score, Alton held on the win and the Islanders claiming a much-merited bonus point, and Fin Vickers player-of-the-match.

Hurricanes 2nd XV won 33-28 at home to the Trojans, with a hat-trick for Nathan Proud, a try apiece from George Shannon and Freddie Sheath. There were conversions from Gary Warvill, and player-of-the-match performances from Mark Wyndam-Jones and Luke Gales.