Romsey 53 Ventnor 7

High flying Romsey produced a sparkling performance at Ganger Farm on Saturday as they continue their push for the League title. Harrison Scott’s Blue and Golds summoned up nine tries to brighten a dull afternoon to set up a “winner takes all” clash at first placed Andover on February 1st. A solitary point separates the two sides with just a handful of League games remaining.

Saturday’s opponents were Ventnor, a side that has caused Romsey problems in the past. Early exchanges suggested that these problems were destined to continue as the Isle of Wight outfit tackled hard and kept Romsey under pressure. The home side struggled to establish their rhythm and their opponents seemed determined to upend the form book.

Gradually, the back row of Harrison Scott, Ryan Daly and Brad Piper began to dominate in the loose, and Romsey went through the gears. Ventnor’s early resistance was broken in the second quarter as Romsey produced a four try blitz with scores by Jim Lamont, Ben Hoad, Oli Soundy and Mike Streicher.

With the bonus point already in the bag the home side would have been forgiven for taking things easy in the second half, but they scored two excellent tries immediately after the break. Ryan Daly produced a barnstorming run at the posts to rack up Romsey’s fifth try of the day. Moments later silken hands from centre Ben Powell allowed fly half Lamont to execute a perfect loop and his pass allowed Oli Soundy to crash over in the corner. Further tries by Davies, Lamont and Piper crowned a great day for Romsey. It is to Ventnor’s credit that they were able to get on the scoreboard in the final quarter, but this was emphatically Romsey’s day.