London Scottish 31pts, Basingstoke 20

DESPITE a courageous and determined effort, Basingstoke did not get the result they deserved at Richmond.

All their good work was undone in a 10-minute spell at the start of the second half, when the home side scored three unconverted tries to open a 28-8 lead.

The spirit of this 'Stoke side came through for a rousing display in the last half-hour as they clawed their way back but could not quite snatch victory.

The visitors made a superb start when they won their own kick-off and recycled the ball four times before the home side were penalised in front of their own posts for offside. Seb Berti accepted the three points inside the first minute.

Scottish came back two minutes later with an unconverted try to lead 5-3.

'Stoke had to do some serious defending to nullify a bigger home pack and, on 12 minutes, they achieved a turnover on their own 22. A well-directed kick over the top put the ball deep into the Scottish 22, assisted by the breeze. Vincent Feausi, giving chase and smelling a try-scoring opportunity, out-paced the covering defence to touch down and restore the 'Stoke lead.

Having to battle hard in the set pieces and defending well at the breakdowns, the visitors gave a good display. On a few occasions, had they spun the ball wide and not gone up the middle, they might have made better use of the ball.

Scottish drew level on 28 minutes with a penalty and, as a result, Roberto Bussati was shown a yellow card.

'Stoke, down to 14 players, defended with great determination for the rest of the half and only conceded one try on 33 minutes to trail 13-8 at half-time.

This could have been closer but for two long-range penalties missing the target.

Playing into a strong wind, 'Stoke could not have made a worse start to the second period. The home team scored three unconverted tries on 41, 43 and 50 minutes.

During this passage of play, 'Stoke were twice hit by a similar move and were not helped by some curious decisions from the referee, all of which went to the home side.

The last 30 minutes saw potentially the best rugby played this season by 'Stoke.

They increased an already-high tackle count and, led by the man-of-the-match Andy Wilson, the back row of Rees, Appleby and Dixon started to out-perform their opponents. The visitors were now finding more space and time with ball in hand.

On 60 minutes, Berti launched a comeback with a try. Jim Dixon picked up from a scrum and Darren Lillywhite passed out to Simon Humberstone, who breached the defence with a 30-metre break before switching with Simon Buckland. Now in the home 22, 'Stoke got quick possession from a ruck for Berti to score and convert and reduce the deficit to 28-15.

Further progress looked possible. The forwards were winning more ball and the backs were willing to run the ball, with breaks from Feausi, Berti, Humberstone and Buckland, while Matt Lucas worked well off his wing.

On 74 minutes, the narrow side was exploited by Lucas and Humberstone for Buckland to score. Unfortunately, Berti's conversion, to leave one score in it, went just wide.

'Stoke continued to run the ball, which left them exposed at times. With time running out, they gave away a penalty on 79 minutes for the home side to add three points.

'Stoke showed how much they have improved since earlier meetings with Scottish and the efforts from the whole team has to be applauded.

Afterwards, player-coach Dixon said: "For 70 minutes, we worked like Trojans and competed well. We need to look at why we gave away three tries at the start of the second half."

Basingstoke: S Humberstone; S Buckland, V Feausi, E Chimbima, M Lucas; S Berti, D Lillywhite; P Perkins, P Maxwell, R Bussati (rep M Rushworth), A Wilson, R Northcote, S Appleby, D Rees, J Dixon. Reps (not used): C White, T Northcote.