A Romsey side seriously depleted by injury and skiing holidays were no match for second-in-the-league Old Reigatians.

The high-flying visitors were hungry for match points lest the decider for the divisional championship should come down to points difference. They took every opportunity to engage their superb set of backs and continually threaten the Romsey line.

Tries came thick and fast, especially from Reigatians' flying left wing, against whom Romsey had little to offer.

During a tumultuous start to the game Romsey's pack were initially overwhelmed in the set pieces but as is their wont they stuck manfully to the task and eventually gained a certain amount of parity in the forward struggle.

The game, as far as Romsey were concerned, was all about damage limitation and to a certain extent they were successful in this respect.

It was obvious that Reigatians were determined to top a hundred points in this encounter but Romsey, determined to the last, thwarted them in this respect. Only once did Romsey come any where near to crossing their opponents' line, and had to be satisfied with two penalties kicked by Nick Creal.

Despite conceding a huge number of points, the Romsey tackle count was impressive with Graham Lusty once more to the fore in this respect. Several times he dumped his opponent in spectacular fashion, much to the delight of the Romsey supporters - who had very little to cheer throughout this match.

Earlier in the season Romsey had made quite a contest out of their visit to Reigatians but since then Romsey's fortunes have waned while those of Reigatians have waxed considerably.

Currently, informed opinion is that Reigatians are a better all-round outfit than Guernsey, the league leaders. It will be interesting to see how promotion pans out and how these two clubs fare in the higher echelons of London South West if indeed they are both promoted.

With all eyes focused on Cardiff this week for the deciding match in the Six Nations, there are no league fixtures for Romsey.

Romsey 2nds are due to play Old Embleians at the Sports Centre in a fixture unconfirmed at the time of writing.

Romsey's final two league fixtures are due for the first two Saturdays in April with the one remaining home game against Petersfield due on April 9th.

All supporters are urged to attend this game since it is the last time that the indomitable JJ Barber and the masterly Darren Sharpe will be pulling on their first team shirts. They will be sorely missed.