FARNHAM IV 29,

VENTNOR II 5

In torrential conditions, 11 mighty Lions travelled to Farnham for this rearranged fixture.

Bolstered by former Islander, now Andover player, Jason Corney and given two players by the opponents, Ventnor looked to get into the game very quickly as they arrived off the coach five minutes before kick off.

Right from the start, it was obvious the conditions were going to effect play with scrums following handling errors taking a lot of time.

Ventnor’s seven-man pack held back Farnham’s full eight-man with strong performances from Ventnor’s front three of Adam Pratt, captain Jac Stemmet and returning Joe Pettifer.

It took a while for the first score of the game, Farnham’s mauling saw them over in the corner for an unconverted try. This was followed shortly after by another score by the home team.

However, Ventnor were very much in the fight.

AJ Wells Man of the Match Chris Hill, in his last appearance for the club this season, broke free from scrum half with the move finished off with Ed Blake dragging his opposite number over the line for Ventnor’s only score of the game.

Strong tackling from Cory Turner, Justinas Urbonas and Harry Colson held Ventnor’s line well. They, twinned with carries from father and son, Scott and Gareth Gough, and Dan Noyes kept the game competitive.

The first half ended 22-5 to Farnham.

The second half saw a resolute defensive display from Ventnor, who only allowed Farnham to score once in the whole half.

Captain Jac Stemmet said: “It was a shame that last minute commitments and travel disruption meant we had some drop out meaning we had to travel light.

“This game was very much a winnable one, but the players that did travel did the badge and I proud.”

Ventnor: Stemmet, Pettifer, Pratt, S.Gough, Noyes, Corney, Hill, Colson, Blake, Urbonas, G. Gough, Turner.