Boyes blast for Eastleigh

The visitors were on the scoreboard after two minutes and eventually won the battle 21-20 in a see-saw clash at Bishopstoke Road.

The sides cancelled each other out for most of the first half and turned around level at 7-7 – Eastleigh’s score coming from Pete Noonan who made a break from the halfway line which was converted by Jon Lynch.

The home side took the lead when Lynch struck with a penalty in the second half but then fell behind again, until scrum half Ramsay Lind restored their advantage when he followed up his own kick to touch down.

Lynch converted that and struck with another penalty after Whitgiftian had registered another try. The visitors protected their one-point lead over the last 15 minutes as two Eastleigh penalty attempts fell short.

Eastleigh head coach Andy Boyes said: “We never really turned up today. It was our worst performance of the season so far. We made a number of basic errors, and I’m not sure whether the delayed start or the positional changes we were forced to make because of unavailability upset us but we never got going.

“We had two opportunities to win the game late on but overall Old Mid-Whitgiftian deserved the win.”

Eastleigh’s place at the top has been taken by Old Tiffinians who defeated New Milton & District on their own Ashley Rec turf.

The Surrey visitors did most of their damage in the first half – striking with two early penalties and three tries in the final ten minutes, with Milton winger Ali Neal claiming his side’s five points.

Tiffs went further ahead after the break but Milton forwards created a lot of pressure on their opponents’ line and were finally rewarded when Ben Russell touched down.