ELLINGHAM 33, PETERSFIELD 15

THIS was the only Petersfield senior fixture to go ahead last weekend and ’Field probably wished it hadn’t as Ellingham & Ringwood gained revenge for their defeat at the start of the season.

Continuing a familiar theme, Petersfield again travelled with a scratch squad, comprising 1st XV regulars and a hefty batch of 2nd XV men – all of whom acquitted themselves admirably.

But with their losing streak continuing, ’Field have been drawn into a relegation dogfight in Hampshire 1. Locksheath are rock-bottom on minus one point, while only two points separates the next three sides, with ’Field trailing Isle of Wight and Ellingham.

Petersfield have the potential within their squad to climb away from trouble, but only if they can string together a few matches with an unchanged side.

A feature of their play this season – and seen again on Saturday – has been the reliability of the pack. Rarely has the ‘engine room’ been dominated by their opposite numbers in the set-piece and since their early-season tendency towards naivety at the breakdown was cured, they have looked the full package.

Fortunately for the Penns Place club, the forwards are strong throughout the seniors, with the 2nd and 3rd XV packs showing the same ability, allowing an almost seamless interchange of players between the teams.

It was the pack who produced Petersfield’s points against Ellingham, with the irrepressible Ben Hooper scoring a brace of tries and Max Kemp adding the third.

But the New Forest side had too much firepower for the visitors. Centre Charlie Cockram scored a hat-trick of tries and the other scorers were scrum-half Dave Jones and full-back Dom Pitt. Josh Butcher converted four of the tries.

With the many postponements so far in January, the league table may yet throw up some changes to benefit ’Field. A couple of wins could change everything, while losing bonus points may well prove crucial at the climax of the campaign.

Petersfield return to Penns Place this Saturday for a match against third-placed Fareham. The Heathens have scored freely against the lower-ranked teams and it’s a tough ask for ’Field to take something from the game.