Winchester'S Jekyll and Hyde season continues.

Their latest defeat, a 13-12 reverse to mid-table Farnham, further dents their play-off ambitions and pushes them down below a climbing Tottonians, who bounced back from their pre-Christmas run with a tense 12-10 success at Chobham.

Despite playing well, Winchester were let down by having two clear-cut tries disallowed and then saw Farnham's injury time match-winner allowed even though the scorer fumbled the ball before he reached the line and touched down.

It was another kick in the teeth for Barry Bridgman's side, who led 12-3 at one stage - as they did in the reverse fixture two months ago - only to see that lead frittered away in the final five minutes.

Ed Ravenhill and prop Adi Mort both went over as Winchester dominated the early stages but their finishing in other areas deserted them again and they paid the price by returning a sixth defeat of the season.

"We were robbed of the win," felt coach Barry Bridgman. "Having deliberately played against the very strong wind in the first half, we came out on top and should have been further ahead as well."

Tottonians climbed back to third as they finally put together a performance that they had been threatening for some time in keeping out Chobham.

The early power play kept Chobham locked in their 22 for the opening quarter and skipper Paul Goodall capitalised on a blocked clearance kick to outpace their defence and open the scoring, also posting the long-range conversion.

But the hosts got back into the match and Totts' indiscipline was giving them the impetus they needed. However, Neil Angell's catch and drive settled their nerves, although Chobham mounted a serious challenge at the end.

"We deserved to win," felt the captain, "but if we hadn't gone off the boil in the first half, we would have won more comfortably.

"Mark Amey had a superb game, as did Nick Timms in the back row while the return of Richard Buck made a huge difference. Also Lee Brading had a fantastic game at fly-half. This result should now be a big confidence-booster for all the team."

Southampton felt they deserved better from their trip to London Division Four South-West league leaders Guernsey, beaten 24-0 but questioning two of the tries that were awarded.

Injured captain Marcus Coffin was proud of his team's commitment but only bemoaned the fact that his side cannot turn their pressure into points.

"I could not have asked for anything else," he said, "The commitment was 100 per cent."

The Channel Islanders got the rub of the green on more than one occasion, as the two tries were knocked-on over the line.

"But we can come away with heads held high," Coffin added, "and once it all comes together, we will be back in the flow of things."

Romsey, however, were dejected at their latest defeat - 23-19 at home to KCS Old Boys - as they had led throughout the contest until the last minute when a strike against the head resulted in the match-winning score.

Leading 19-3 at the break, thanks to tries from Darren Sharpe, Dave Parsons and a well-worked forwards effort, Romsey began to believe they could jump out of the relegation mire against a side who crushed them by 50 points in the reverse fixture.

But KCS' young, fluid back division began to gel and Romsey's mix-and-match team wilted as the Surrey side pulled their way back into the game with two tries, both while Graham Noble was off the field for a sin-binning. Then came that last minute snatch.

Coach Bryan Musk was bitterly disappointed to have come so near but pleased with the efforts of flanker Tom Beaumont, in his second game back for the club, while Gavin Harbour tackled amiably.

Petersfield keep their head above relegation waters despite the heavy 38-17 defeat to Old Reigatians. But a level second half could not make up for the miserable first, where they shipped 21 points and director of rugby Mike O'Shea was particularly critical of the referee.

"I am not disappointed by the way we played, but I am by the standard of refereeing outside of Hampshire," he said.