A tricky afternoon at Granger Farm saw Romsey fall to a 12-48 defeat against US Portsmouth.

The visitors started on the front foot and set the tone with a couple of early tries on the scoreboard. This momentum never looked like stopping for Portsmouth, who by half time were already out of sight. However, a spirited second-half display from Romsey helped restore some pride to an otherwise disappointing day.

If anyone needed reminding of the needle in this clash, then Ollie Soundy certainly provided it, when he smashed into a Portsmouth ball-carrier inside just three minutes.

This was then followed up by Dylan Argent’s tangle with an opponent following a ruck, which resulted in the pair having to be separated.

However, the visitors in the ninth minute got their first try on the board courtesy of Baz Barnes, although it was not converted.

Portsmouth continued to dominate, and raced into an unassailable lead before the break with more tries from George Stevenson, George Humphrey, Pita Banivanua and Ned Hewson.

Romsey eventually pulled a try back on the brink of the break, after a lapse in concentration at the back for Portsmouth opened up gaps which Max Harper exploited, although the try wasn’t converted.

Portsmouth nicked another try right at the start of the second period, and as Romsey came straight back at them, Harper almost grabbed his second try of the match but dropped the ball on the line.

However, the hosts kept their heads up and were eventually rewarded with more consolation points, as Alfie Lawrence crashed over following a successful lineout drive from less than 10 metres out, converted by Jay Hodges.

Despite Romsey growing into it in after the break, the game ended with two final Portsmouth tries, although only one of the was converted, which happened to be the final kick of the match.

Report by Ashton Cox and Erik Hogg