HURRICANES NOT DOWN AND OUT DESPITE DEFEAT
A perfect day and conditions for an important promotion clash for the runners up from Hampshire & Surrey and also a promotion for Vectis RFC for producing some exciting young players who want to play at the top of their game on the Island. The Hurries pack dominated throughout the game pushing the"A's" back at every scrum so much so that the visitors opted for line-outs instead of scrummages. The hosts started as usual with instant pressure play but the first 20 minutes were littered with penalties against them for infringements, resulting in a lecture by the referee. The visitors only managed a handful of visits to the Hurries half and kicked a penalty 0-3. Most of the play was in the centre of the field as both defences held out. NatWest man-of-the-match Will Baxendall, at the start of what was going to be a 'roller-coast' ride of a day for him, kicked a penalty, 3-3. The Hurries then lost a forward to the sin bin. But soon after they created an overlap and winger Matt Jones had a 30-metre dash to the corner to score a try through the tackles of three defenders, 8-3. Charlie Sutton kept the visitors pinned back with long field kicks but they added another penalty before half time ended 8-6.

In the second period the Hurries changed up a gear and with multi phase rugby keeping the visitors pinned back in their half, but their defence held out. Luke Chandler had several strong breaks.The line-outs were dominated by captain and Wightlink man-of-the-match Joe Rees, who also won a percentage of the visitors ball. Ryan Carey came on for Greg Dean. Full back Baxendall joined the line and passed the ball to Chandler, who slipped it inside for Alan Morey who in turn slipped it back to Baxendall to score a try in the corner, which he converted himself, 15-6.
Hurries then attacked at every opportunity, the visitors started to panic with rushed clearances. But one such attack broke down as the visitors centre stole the ball in an upright tackle and sprinted in for an unopposed converted try, 15-13. Both sides then played for the winning score, then from an off-side the visitors kicked a penalty, 15-16. In the last play of the game, young Baxendall stepped up for a penalty kick to win the game and promotion. It seemed the whole of Sandown fell silent, even some youngsters who were playing football on an adjourning field behind the posts stopped and kept silent. As the kick slipped past the posts the referee blew his whistle, the visitors celebrated and the Hurries displayed huge disappointment. Players post match view "We will have to win the league next year".

HURRICANES AGONY AS PROMOTION CHANCE LOST
By Clare Wall (Isle of Wight County Press)

Sandown and Shanklin Rugby Club were just a point away from promotion today (Saturday) as they were edged out 15-16 by Old Alleynians at their Fairway ground. The side outplayed their promotion-chasing counterparts for most of the game, but a string of penalties plus an intercepted pass which led to a try, proved the Hurricanes' undoing. Hurricanes went 3-0 down after around five minutes, but were level-pegging shortly after.
In a tense first half, the home side managed to stretch into a lead when Matt Jones intercepted a pass to score the opening try, but a penalty for each side made it 8-6 going into the break.
The Hurricanes then created a gap between themselves and Old Alleynians when Will Baxendall scored in the corner, and then converted his try himself. But when Alleynians scored an intercepted try of their own with 10 minutes left bringing them to within just two points, and then scored a penalty kick with just moments left, their promotion to the London South West Division 4, was sealed.
Head coach Graham Thomas said: "Despite the result it was a great experience for our young side. The thoughts of the team are already looking to next season, and making sure that next year we win as league champions."

In the last league game of the season the Hurries travelled to their old rivals Farnborough. With a home advantage in the promotion play-offs at stake this was an important match. Apart from a strong end-to-end wind, the conditions were superb. The Hurries started strongly forcing the hosts to defend close in. Eventually Wightlink man-of-the-match Ross Edmunds made a break across the field and down the wing then fed inside to captain Joe Rees to score a try, converted by Neil Buckingham, 0-7. The Hurries controlled the tight play and after one of numerous rolling mauls, Greg Dean scored a try. Half Time 0-12.

Against the wind, the Hurries defended well as the hosts pushed them back with long field kicks. In the first visit to the hosts 22, Buckingham kicked to the corner and Mat Jones picked up to score a try, 0-17. The hosts then kicked a penalty, 3-17. The Hurricanes then began to vary their play with close in dominance and superb running lines. NatWest man-of-the-match, lock Sam Rees, put in a tremendous effort. Centre Alan Morey evaded 6 tackles with some fancy swerving, to score a try, 3-22. Winger Luke Chandler on tackle, fed inside to Buckingham who fed Will Baxandall to score the final try under the posts, converted again by Buckingham, FINAL SCORE 3-29.

Hurries from: Harris ,Hullick, Skelly, Sam. & Joe (Capt) Rees, Tolley, Thomas, Dean, Dove, Baxandall, Jones, Edmunds, Morey, Chandler, Buckingham, Carey, King & Muir.

Hurries will now play Old Alleynians from Surrey division 1 in the promotion play-off at home on the 26th April, 3pm kick-off.
Can we have a huge Hurricane's support for this promotion game.

With one league match to go Hurries now look strong contenders to host the playoff game for promotion back into the London Leagues.
On Saturday in windy rainy conditions, they hosted United Services Portsmouth. Against the elements, the first 20 minutes saw some of the best rugby from the Hurries this season. Camped in the visitors half, wave after wave of attacks were halted by the visitors stubborn defence and continuous infringements. Early on, Ricky Harris was adjudged held up over the line but finally Neil Buckingham broke the deadlock, kicking one of the numerous penalties, 3-0, adding another soon afterwards 6-0. Hurries once more began to dominate in the tight and the rolling mauls.
NatWest man-of-the-match Danny Thomas, back after an injury layoff, put in a tremendous effort. One maul traveled 20 metres before collapsing over the line. Harris came up with the ball to claim the try, Half Time 11-0.

The second half was littered with incidents and lengthy injury breaks. Soon after the start the visitors lost a player to the sin bin for 'killing the ball.' Then winger and Wightlink man-of-the-match Luke Chandler ran from the half way line, weaving through the visitors defence and was stopped just short of the line, quickly rucked ball was fed out to Alan Morey to score an unopposed try, converted by Buckingham, 18-0.
A visiting prop then accidentally collided with the referee resulting in the prop leaving the game and the ref receiving brief treatment. The visitors replacement front row lasted 10 minutes then he left the game. The game then went to uncontested scrummages. Hurries piled on the pressure with long kicks from Buckingham and open attacking rugby. From a close in scrum Buckingham went blind and fed Mat Jones to score in the corner, 23-0. Hurries then lost a player to the sin bin. In the dying moments Chandler chose a superb running line to score a try, converted again by Buckingham, Final Score 30-0.

Hurries from: Ricky Harris, Yves Soufflet ,Chris Skelly, Joe (captain) & Sam Rees, Daniel Hodgson, Sam Tolley ,Danny Thomas, Joe Dove,
Wil Baxandall, Luke Chandler, Dan Muir, Alan Morey, Mat Jones, Neil Buckingham, Henry Bagnell, Ross McFarlane, Alex Hiscock.

Hurries play local rivals IOW at home next week in a 'friendly' game.

Hurries visited a rain swept, windy Southampton in their drive for a play-off place. Similar to last week, within seconds of the kick-off, winger Mat Jones was adjudged to have dropped the ball as he went over for a try. But minutes later Hurries again 'painted' their forward dominance on the wall against a larger home pack. A close in defensive scrum was pushed back in disarray. In the confusion Will Baxandall picked up a loose ball and twisted and turned over for a try, 0-5. For the second week running NatWest Man-of-the-match, prop Ricky Harris had a superb game. He was a the back of a maul which was illegally brought down short of the line, Neil Buckingham slotted over the penalty, 0-8. Soon afterwards Harris nearly pounced on a loose ball over the line. The game then went into a period littered with infringements and poor ball handling on both sides as they tried to play against the conditions. Half Time 0-8.

The hosts, with the wind at their backs, started the stronger with their 'route-one' rugby, forcing their way down field and kicking a penalty, 3-8. Full Back and Wightlink man-of-the-match, Neil Buckingham supported the strong Hurries defence with strong field kicks forcing the hosts back. Ryan Carey was at his defensive best. The hosts kicked another penalty pulling the score back to 6-8. From a line-out Hurries mauled for 15 metres but were adjudged to have been held up over the line. Buckingham kicked a loose ball ahead, the defender was penalised and Buckingham added another penalty over, 6-11. From a lineout, Hurries mauled for 10 metres, crashed over the line and Harris scored the try, 6-16 .In the dying seconds Richard Booth charged down a clearance kick on the hosts line, the ball popped to Ross Edmunds who crashed through defenders for a try, converted by Buckingham, FINAL SCORE 6-23.

Team From; Neil & John Buckingham, Joe (cap) & Sam Rees, Mat Jones, Alan Morey, Ross Edmunds, Alex Hiscock, Will Baxandall, Joe Dove, Ricky Harris, Yves Soufflet, Chris Skelly, Sam Tolley, Greg Dean, Ryan Carey, Mike King & Richard Booth.

Hurries now have a two week break from League Rugby before the final push for promotion back into the London Leagues.

Hurricanes welcomed their latest recruit Callum Rees smartly kited out in club colours however, due to RFU age restrictions, he had to watch his dad from the touch line with his mother. Congratulations to Nicki & Sam on the birth of their son.

With the automatic promotion spot from Hampshire One filled by Ellingham & Ringwood, the race is now on for the 'play-off' place. Hurricanes, currently second, entertained Fordingbridge who were third. On a perfect sunny but windy day, the importance of the game was apparent from the competitive nature of the game. Chris Skelly caught the ball from the Hurries kick-off and after two phases of play and 2 minutes on the clock, captain Joe Rees took the 'direct route' scoring a superb try, converted by Neil Buckingham, 7-0. Shortly afterwards the visitors hit back with a penalty, 7-3. After a 20 metre 'rolling maul' the Hurries collapsed over the try line, Sam Tolley coming up with the try, 12-3. NatWest man-of-the-match, prop Ricky Harris, orchestrated the tight and mauls, with the visitors pack going backwards at every encounter. Greg Dean then crashed over but was adjudged 'held up'. The Hurries threw everything at the visitors but slipped up in defence as the visitors punished them with two interception tries from kick and chase efforts. Half time 12-13.

Within a few minutes of the restart Buckingham put the Hurries back in front with a penalty, 15-13. There was then an intense passage of play from both teams eager to score. Wightlink man-of-the-match Ross Edmunds was the important link in the centre for side to side attacking play. After a scrummage in the visitors half, Alan Morey picked a superb running line and scored under the posts, 20-13. Both sides then lost a flanker to the sin bin as the game entered its final quarter. Buckingham kicked a long range penalty to take the score to 23-13. Then, in the dying minutes, Joe Rees received the ball in his own half, again using 'route one', broke through the defence. On being tackled passed to his brother Sam who on tackle, passed to Will Baxandall to score the try converted successfully by Buckingham. Final score 30-13.

Hurries from: 'Uncle' Joe (captain) & 'Dad' Sam Rees, 'Uncle' Neil & 'Grandad' John Buckingham, Ricky Harris, Yves Soufflett, Chris Skelly, Daniel Hodgson, Sam Tolley, Greg Dean, Joe Dove, Will Baxandall, Ross Edmonds, Alan Morey, Mat Jones, Richard Booth, Dean Gasper.

Hurries are away to Southampton next week in this tight 'run in' with three games to go.

New Milton are a side who often travel to away games with weakened sides and are much better prepared at home as it proved again this year. Despite a promising start to the game with pressure from the Sandown pack troubling the New Milton defense the only reward after 15 minutes was a Neil Buckingham penalty for a 3 point lead. The back, marshaled well by Wightlink man-of-the-match Alan Morey, had a number of good phases of attacking play and strong support running from wings Henry and Healey both coming close to scoring. However as the first half progressed New Milton controlled position better and both centers made breaks by switching back to their forwards causing Sandown problems. Before Hurricanes could defend this change in tactics by New Milton another center break and off load gave them a deserved unconverted score. Sandowns pack now organised their defense better with Jo Rees covering the backs while Carey and Tolley pressured the half backs. This kept New Milton out for the remainder of the half except for a last minute drop goal giving the home side an 8-3 lead at the interval.

Second half the set scrimmage dominance by Sandown started to tell and after a phase of play within the Hurries territory breaks by Hodgson, Rees and excellent support play by NatWest man-of-the-match Ben Kulik drove Sandown into the New Milton half. The advantage was now clearly with Sandown and poor defensive kicks from the home side fell for the talented Matt Jones to counter attack. Line out and scrum were both now going Hurries way with Harris forcing his opposite prop to be replaced twice while Skelly took on a number of runs only spilling the ball once. It was from a concerted effort that the winning score finally came. Good work by half backs Thomas and Buckingham found Hodgson in space and from 20 meters out he charged over to score before Buckingham added the extra points for the conversion. 8-10 remained the score for the last 12 minutes of the game with both sides having chances to add more points. The difference this week for Hurricanes was a better technical performance in the line outs and a penalty count of 6 against New Milton to only two against the Hurries after they took the lead.

Sandown travel to Ellingham and Ringwood on Sunday 24th Feb, for the semi final of the Hampshire Bowl - KO 2pm.

Hurries team; Matt Jones, Steve Healey, Al Morey, JO Dove, Richard Henry , Neil Buckingham, Dan Thomas , Ricky Harris., Ben Kulik, Chris Skelley, Sam Rees, Daniel Hodgson, , Sam Tolley, Ryan Carey, JO Rees (capt). Subs: Jon Buckingham, Alex Hiscocks, Luke Chandler.

With the match ball sponsored by 'The Old Village Inn', Bembridge, the Hurricanes got stuck into their league rugby program entertaining Alton RFC. On a beautiful day both sides opted to play the expansive game with end to end play, mostly ending near to try lines with a combination of strong defences and infringements. The visitors started the strongest with close in forward play missing two early penalty kicks. In the breakdowns, flanker and Wightlink man-of-the-match, Sam Tolley worked tirelessly. On 20 minutes, the Hurries moved play near to the visitors line and from a line-out Daniel Hodgson broke blind and scored a try in the corner, Half Time 5-0.

The second half started with the Hurries moving up a gear with multi-phase attractive play. NatWest man-of-the-match for the second week running, Matt Jones, was superb in support play. From a quickly taken penalty after a high tackle, close to the visitors line, the ball was passed out smoothly to captain Nick Heelan who crashed over for a try from 5 meters taking three defenders with him, successfully converted by Neil Buckingham 12-0. The visitors got near to the Hurries line on a number of occasions but infringements let them down. Hurries lost a player to the sin bin. Buckingham narrowly missed a drop goal but then struck with a penalty kick, 15-0. In the dying seconds of the game after a number of close in rucks the visitors forwards finally got their converted try. FINAL SCORE 15-7

Sandown and Shanklin's adventure into the later rounds of the National Junior Vase finally came to and end on Saturday going down 18-nil in round 7 to Southmead RFC in Bristol. The home team played the very heavy conditions and small pitch better than Hurricanes and proved deserved winners. This was only part of the story though as Sandown under pressure from the kick off fought every step of the way. The early exchanges had Southmead using the back row to break from scrums and attack the blind side. Flankers Tolley and Carey were kept busy tackling their opposite numbers and Thomas at scrum half with Rees brothers Joe and Sam called to stem the forward attacks. The tactics of Southmead then switched to kicking deep into the Sandown half where Buckingham at full back, fielded the ball well supported by wings Jones and Gasper. The home team opened the scoring after 25 minutes when Sandown were judged off side in the backs at a ruck. This was repeated soon after the restart this time as the Hurricanes player handled the ball in a ruck and the excellent opposition fly half kicked the goal to take the lead to 6-nil. Sandown now enjoyed some rare position with the front row of Harris, Soufflett and Skelly winning clean ball at scrums for Edmunds and Morey to attack the midfield. Southmead defended well in the backs and from their next attack gained a 5m scrum on the Hurries line. A slip in the Sandown pack gave the upper hand to Southmead who drove over the line for a push over try. The fly half added the conversion for a 13 point lead to Southmead at the break.

Sandown now had a mountain to climb to recover the score line and could have faced a heavy defeat if the defense collapsed. Southmead now camped in the Hurries half and kept the ball in their forwards to batter the Sandown line. Time after time Sandown won ball to clear their line with NatWest man-of-the-match Hodgson leading from No. 8 to relieve the pressure on the forwards. In the backs their flat defensive line of Sutton, Edmunds and Morey made Southmead kick over into the Hurries 22m area only for Sandown to clear again. The backs were determined to hold out the attacks typified by the fearless performance of Wightlink man-of-the-match Matt Jones.
After being pinned down for over twenty minutes the score finally came for Southmead stretching Sandown wide on the left for their fast passing to put the winger clear in the corner. From the restart Sandown came back in determined mood with Thomas following up the kick to claim the ball in the air. A period of some relief came as Sandown had a number of phases of play in the Southmead half before loosing the ball in at lineout, an area of the game that did not go well for Hurricanes all day. Southmead again camped in the Sandown half with Edmunds and Thomas paying the cost with injuries to be replaced by Dove and Fletcher. They both slotted in and were immediately called on to defend and duly held the line.
Southmead finished the half as they had started, on the attack, but to Hurricanes great credit the hosts only manages 5 point in the second half for an 18 nil final score.

Sandown's attention now focuses back on the Hampshire league programme with the runner up spot and a play off game on 26th April the target to regain promotion to London Southwest 4. Alton are the visitors to The Fairway this week KO at 14.30pm.

Hurries team; Neil Buckingham, Dean Gasper, Alan Morey, Ross Edmunds (Capt), Matt Jones, Charlie Sutton, Dan Thomas , Ricky Harris., Yves Soufflett, Chris Skelley, Sam Rees, Daniel Hodgson, , Sam Tolley, Ryan Carey, Joe Rees. Subs: Jon Buckingham, Greg Dean, Joe Dove, Andy Fletcher.

Sandown traveled to East Dorset with an away victory earlier in the season already to their credit. They started in great form and a repeat of the December game looked likely with debutantes Robinson and Chandler soon involved. The pack provided good ball for Baxendall to move the ball wide for Henry to challenge the East Dorset line. From the resulting line out the ball was again moved across the back ending in a ruck on the opposite wing. Chandler seized on the loose ball and from 20 meters, left three defending players beaten by his electric pace. The conversion missed, Hurries now controlled much of the possession with Dean feeding Tolley and Hodgson from scrums. Both of the Rees brothers began to control their lineout and from one, set up a maul 25 meters from the line. The entire pack now drove into the home side's defense and the maul controlled by Harris and Dean who eventually crossed the line to claim the score. Baxendall converted for a 12 nil lead. From the restart the East Dorset pack gained a foot hold in Hurries half with their exceptional open side flanker causing Sandown real problems. Again though Hurricanes cleared long with the wind and from three phases of play sent Harris charging over the try line only to be bundled into touch. The remainder of the half now went East Dorsets way leaving the score at 12 nil at the break.

The second half started slowly with Sandown defending their line with ease but never fully clearing away the threat from East Dorset. Two penalties conceded giving the home side a glimmer of hope for the remainder of the game. Return runs from defense by Hiscock and Wightlink man-of-the-match Chandler showing good promise and adventure but back again came East Dorset. Sandown now seemed to suffer a lack of confidence and East Dorset set up blind side moves from good lineout ball now camped in the Sandown half. This lead to a number of rucks close to Hurries line culminating in and unconverted try and a 12-11 recovery for the home team. Now on the back foot the pressure all came from the home side despite some determined tackling and dogged defense by Hurricanes NatWest man-of-the-match Skelly keeping going throughout the game. Spurred on now by a converted penalty for off side in the backs East Dorset now went 12-14 ahead and continued to batter the Sandown line. From and insuring lineout in the right-hand corner they finally drove over the line to end the game 12-19 victors. The only consolation for Sandown on a frustrating day were the promising performances of young backs Chandler, Robinson and Hiscock and no further injury worries ahead of this Saturdays game.

Hurries team; Dan Robinson, Luke Chandler, Richard Henry, Matt Jones, Daniel Muir, Will Baxendall, Dan Thomas, Ricky Harris., Yves Soufflett, Chris Skelly, Joe Rees, Daniel Hodgson, , Sam Tolley, Sam Rees, Greg Dean. Subs: Jon Buckingham, Alex Hiscock,

Following the Cup successes of the previous week the Hurricanes were back in league action with the top of the table clash against Ellingham attracting a large crowd. Sandown started with the elements and struggled to come to terms with the discipline demanded by the referee. Despite long periods of early pressure, the very skillful halfback pairing for Ellingham cleared their line time after time. Sandowns scrum domination led by Skelly, Soufflett and Harris bought a number of strikes against the head in Sandown’s favor but lost ball at the ruck frustrated attempts to build a first half lead. Finally pressure told with Ellingham off side giving Buckingham an easy penalty and 3 nil to Hurricanes. Despite taking the lead, frustration gave way to a tackle by Soufflett on the Ellingham No.9 from a quick penalty receiving a yellow card and 10 minutes off the field. Hodgson moved to prop with Skelly moving to hooker and the scrummage continued to dominate though one man down. The Ellingham backs now moved the ball wide and from a ruck at half way followed a box kick to score the only try of the first half leaving Sandown 5 – 3 down at the break.

The half time break revealed a hand injury to Edmunds who could take no further part being replaced by Matt Jones taking over on the wing and Dan Muir moving to centre. Following the frustrations of the first half the second period proved to be a different game with both sides going flat out for victory. The early honors went to Ellingham with two long range penalties helped over by the strong wind taking the score to 11-3 in their favor. Sandown now dominating the forward battle driving on relentlessly in the mauls finally rewarded by a Greg Dean try converted by Buckingham. Score now 11-10 to the visitors. The backs now added their weight to the attacks on the Ellingham half typified by the efforts of Wightlink man-of-the-match Will Baxendale dragging two defenders along in his attempt to keep attacking. The flankers Rees and Tolly now battered the visitor’s line driven on by NatWest man-of-the-match Thomas at scrum half several times gaining a good field position only to be sent back into their half by the wily Ellingham No.10s long clearance kicks. Time however ran out for Sandown who conceded a final penalty in the dying moments to end the game 14-10 down.

Hurries team; Neil Buckingham, Dean Gasper, Daniel Muir, Ross Edmunds, Al Morey, Will Baxandall, Dan Thomas (Capt), Ricky Harris., Yves Soufflett, Chris Skelly, Joe Rees, Daniel Hodgson, , Sam Tolly, Sam Rees, Greg Dean. Subs: Jon Buckingham, Ryan Carey, Mat Jones,

Next week Hurricanes are again in league action traveling to East Dorset for 2.30pm KO.

Two cup ties in a weekend is never ideal, however the fact the Sandown were able to make substantial changes and still put out a strong side reflects on the strength in depth of the Hurricanes. The conditions if anything were worse than the Saturday with the scrum coming under immediate pressure from a strong Alton side. However the spirit of the Hurries is such that nobody wanted to be outdone, resulting in an excellent battling performance for the whole game. Early on in the game the old heads of Berry and King set up a couple of driving mauls. With a penalty close in Tolley managed to secure the ball with King driving him over for the first score, Buckingham resuming his kicking duties from the previous day. With the ground worsening under foot and the front row under pressure throughout, the back row of Rees, Tolly and Carey proved awesome in both work rate and attacking flair. This combined with a very strong performance from Dove at scrum half allowed the Hurries to play a more expansive game than would be expected in the conditions. With a catch drive on the home sides 10 yard line Buckingham managed to squeeze over for a score which he then converted, bringing the score to 0-12. Again after some sustained pressure, the Hurricanes put in another try with Sam Rees capping of an excellent weekends performance, Buckingham completing the conversion. Unfortunately King, who had kept himself busy looking for work throughout the game, had to go off with a torn shoulder after 30 minutes and was ably replaced by John Buckingham. A momentary lapse of concentration allowed Alton in for a score just before half time, the teams turning around at 5-19.

At the turn round, fatigue was evident on a number of faces; however the players were determined to keep a 100% record for the weekend. At 50 minutes, Sandown replaced Sam Rees, (injured back), with Edmunds, moving Henry to back row. Henry being one of the unsung heroes of the game put in a sterling performance with some excellent tackling around the park and always being first to the breakdown. Amazingly there was still more to come from the Hurricanes with Hodge continually punching holes in the home side's defence, eventually making it through in the 60th minute. A determined Alton came back strongly and always looked threatening, eventually scoring two try towards the end of play, taking the final score to 10-24. Natwest men of the match was the entire back row of J Rees, S Tolley & R Carey. Wightlink man of the match, Joe Dove

The Hurricanes move to the semi final of the Hampshire cup on January 21st.

Sandown through to last 16 of National Cup

Sandown had to travel further afield than normal for their away tie in the EDF Energy Junior Vase. Drawn away to top side Wymondham meant an away trip to the wilds of Norwich for the Hurries, currently second in Hampshire div 1. The home side have been piling on the points in their own league but the Hurricanes proved to be different opposition. Playing on a wet pitch the game was never going to be expansive, with the Hurries front row struggling in the first half to get grip and hold their ground. The home side where the first to score with a penalty for continual offside, in fact the penalty count for the Hurricanes would prove to be a bit of a problem. The first half saw Sandown defend well and then take advantage of their few chances with Buckingham equalling the score from an infringement in front of the posts. Wymondham came back strong and almost immediately struck another penalty, however the Hurries were not to be out done and after a period of consistent pressure with Hodge, Dean and Joe Rees continually punching holes, Sandown were rewarded with a penalty, which Buckingham again slotted over. Half time was called with the scores at 6-6

The turn round saw the Hurricanes in more aggressive mood, realising the tie was theirs for the taking. Baxendale took charge at stand off and started to release the backs, with Jones and Muir benefitting from the space and putting the home side on the back foot, the result being a further 3 points to Sandown which put them ahead for the first time.

Sandown made changes at 50 & 60 minutes with Carey on for Dean and James Keyworth on for Jones. The resultant increase in mobility in the back row again gave Baxendale more space to operate. On 70 minutes the Hurricanes were applying pressure on the whole back line of the home side, with the ball going to ground, Muir showed off his footballing skills by hacking through from the half way line; realising his pace, Muir controlled the ball, managing to prevent it going dead and scored the long awaited try, with Buckingham hitting the post with his conversion attempt.

With the score at 6-14 and only 10 minutes to go Sandown seemed to take their foot off the gas, allowing a determined Wymondham to take the ball under the post. With the Hurries defence flagging, Wymondham scored under the posts and with the conversion bought the score to 13-14, making for a nail biting last 5 minutes. Sandown resisted all further pressure and managed to soak up the minutes for a well deserved away win.
Natwest Man of the Match was Will Baxendale and Wightlink Man of the Match was Joe Rees.

The draw for round 7 of the EDF Energy Junior Vase is held on Tueaday 15th, with Sandown looking for a home tie.

Following the Christmas break the Hurricanes returned to league rugby this week with the tricky away trip to Fareham. Although bottom of the table Heathens are always a difficult team to beat on their heavy pitch and so it proved. From the start their larger pack of forwards kept the ball tight but made little impact on the resolute Sandown defense lead by forwards Thomas, Carey and Dean and backs Edmunds, Muir and Frost. This pressure forced Heathens to kick to clear only giving Wightlink man-of-the-match Buckingham chances to counter attack with strong running and well placed return kicks. This lead to concerted Hurries pressure from the poor handling by Heathens backs and from a scrum and resulting ruck they were off side for Buckingham to land the first penalty for 3 - 0 lead. The remainder of the first period was played out in the Heathens half with lineout and scrums dominated by the Sandown pack, Hodgson and Rees powering through from second row but only rewarded with a second penalty for a 6-0 half time score.

The second half produced more of the same with hooker and NatWest man-of-the-match Yves Soufflett involved in all aspects of the Sandown pack performance ably supported by props King and Skelly. Dove at scrum half now began to link better with Edmunds at No.10 giving the Sandown backs a number of chances to attack but the appalling conditions under foot often halting the advance. A number of refereeing decisions throughout the second half appeared to shape the end result with first Rees and then Dean spending 10 minutes in the sin bin for playing a player without the ball. This galvanized the Sandown team and after almost constant try line pressure the fourth ruck phase of an attack gave Buckingham the space to cross the line and score before converting his own try. The final score 13-nil.

Hurries team; Neil Buckingham, Andy Frost, Daniel Muir, Will Baxandall, Mat Jones, Ross Edmunds, Jo Dove, Mike King, Yves Soufflett, Chris Skelly, Joe Rees, Daniel Hodgson, Dan Thomas, Greg Dean (Capt) Ryan Carey, Al Morey, Ricky Harris.

Now the team turns their attention to next week and the 6th Round tie away to WYMONDHAM near Norwich in the last 32 of the National Junior Vase. This is followed on the Sunday by the opening round of the Hampshire Bowl away to ALTON. Coach Graham Thomas said "the whole squad is up for the challenge. We travel to Cambridge on Friday to be fresh for the game on Saturday, and then back to Alton on Sunday morning from our hotel in Cambridge. Players unable to make the full trip will be traveling up from the Island to Alton to cover injury and fatigued players. It is a real team effort for all concerned."

This season a Hurries XV resumed the annual friendly match with old rivals Ventnor. In perfect conditions, Ventnor immediately took the game to the Hurries but were unlucky to loose a player at the first scrummage, to injury. But this spurred them on as they tackled, turned over ruck ball and generally harassed the Hurries numerous attacks. Ventnor took play to the Hurries line early on but missed a penalty. The Hurries pack, with 'youngsters' Berry & Buckingham dominated the tight. After 25 minutes, Baxandall kicked a penalty. The Ventnor defence finally gave way to the close in pressure, with offloading at the tackle, the ball went from Daniel Hodgson, Joe Rees, Ryan Carey to Joe Dove to score a try. Hodgson added another close in try converted by Baxandall. Full Back & Wighlink man-of-the-match Dan Robinson had some superb runs. Hodgson then then picked up from a scrum and fed Baxandall who converted. HALF TIME 22-0.

After the break scrums went uncontested at Ventnors request. Again, Ventnor started with some strong attacks taking the ball to the Hurries line on several occasions but the Hurries always looked dangerous with ball in hand. Two Hurries stalwarts then entered the fray, & Club President, Coach and NatWest man-of-the-match Graham Thomas. Thomas rucked a ball close in to the Ventnor line which was fed out to his son Danny to score a try. Soon afterwards, after a Hurries 15 metre rolling maul ended over the try line Graham Thomas came up with the ball. FINAL SCORE 32-0.

Hurries team from; N & J Buckingham, J & S Rees, G & D Thomas, Healan, Robinson, Frost, Smith, Berry, Kulik, Carey, Dove, Baxendall, Hodgson, Robinson, Edmonds, Muir, Jones.

In the last 32 teams of National Junior Vase, Hurries have been drawn away on 12 Jan, to Wymondham RFC near Norwich, on the following day they travel to Alton in the Hampshire cup competition. Next week Hurries hold their annual Exile match.

On a cold but fine day for open rugby the Hurries did not disappoint. With the superb field kicking of Wightlink man-of-the-match Neil Buckingham, keeping the hosts at bay, all the early play was in their half. Buckingham kicked two early penalties for a 0-6 lead. Sam Tolley was adjudged to have been held up over the try line, however from the ensuing scrum Ross Edmonds drove over for a try, converted by Buckingham, 0-13. Shortly afterwards Tommy Booth picked up from a close in scrum, took out the defence and Will Baxandall picked a fine angle to run in unopposed for a try, converted again by Buckingham, 0-20. As the hosts fought back the midfield of Edmonds, Daniel Muir and Baxandall defended well. Scrummaging again was the Hurries strength, gaining ground on the hosts scrum on every occasion, with prop Chris Skelley, the NatWest man-of-the-match, enjoying the competition. From a close in penalty move, the ball was passed to Daniel Hodgson who drove over for a try with the close attention on three defenders, converted once again by Buckingham, HALF TIME 0-27.

Buckingham added a further penalty after the break for a commanding 0-30 lead. The Hurries got close on many more occasions and always looked dangerous with the ball but infringements and a determined defence kept them out. In the later stages of the game, the hosts took play to the Hurries line but the Hurries defended well. From a penalty move close in, the ball was fed to Richard Booth who in turn slipped it to his cousin Tommy Booth, who drove over unopposed for a try, converted by Buckingham. FINAL SCORE 0-37.

Hurries team; Neil Buckingham, Andy Frost, Daniel Muir, Will Baxandall, Mat Jones, Ross Edmunds, Daniel Thomas (capt), Ricky Harris, Yves Soufflett, Chris Skelly, Joe & Sam Rees, Daniel Hodgson, Sam Tolley, Thomas & Richard Booth, James Keyworth, Mike King.

The Hurries have a busy start to 2008. They are away to two cup games on one January weekend. On the 12th, in the last 32 of the National Vase, they have been drawn away to Wymondham RFC, near Norwich. Then on the 13th they face Alton in the Hampshire Bowl. A Hurries XV host neighbours Ventnor next week 22nd, and the traditional Christmas exiles game will be played on the 29th.

Hurries visited East Dorset RFC to play in the fifth round of the National Junior Vase. On a day of strong winds and driving rain both sides succeeded in providing an entertaining game. Hurries fielded a young side in their bid to reach Twickenham. Opting kick-off with the conditions, most of the first session was spent in the hosts half. With wave after wave of attacking play but with a determined defence the hosts managed to keep the Hurries at bay. Early on, Wightlink man-of-the-match Danny Thomas, normally back row, but playing scrum half, made a strong run feeding Andrew Frost who was held up just short of the line. After a 15 metre rolling maul was brought down illegally, Neil Buckingham kicked a penalty 0-3. Then in the last play before half time from a close in scrum, Joe Rees picked up, driving forwards fed Daniel Hodgson who crashed over for an unconverted try, HALF TIME 0-8.

Facing the conditions and now heavy rain, the Hurries played their rugby again in the hosts half with close in forward dominated play. Flanker and NatWest man-of-the-match, Sam Tolley was superb in not allowing the hosts half backs to gain any advantage. Hodgson was adjudged to be held up, in another crash over the line. In one of their rare visits to the Hurries half, after a turnover ruck, the hosts scored an unconverted try in the corner, 5-8. As both sides then raised their game, Daniel Muir kicked a loose ball down field collected and fed Lawrence Edmonston who was brought down just short of the line. FINAL SCORE 5-8.

The Hurries go into the draw for the next round on Tuesday, 4 wins short of a visit to Twickenham. Coach Graham Thomas said after the match "With a starting line up containing 7 players 20 years or under and the second oldest player in the team aged only 28 it doesn't get much better. Lets hope this hard won game is rewarded with a home draw for 12th January".

Hurries Team; Neil & John Buckingham, Andrew Frost, Daniel Muir, Will Baxandall, Mat Jones, Charlie Sutton, Daniel Thomas, Ricky Harris (Capt.), Ben Kulik, Chris Skelley, Daniel Hodgson, Sam & Joe Rees, Ryan Carey, Sam Tolley, Leslie Berry & Lawrence Edmonston.
Team Photo >>

The Hurricanes hosted their old rivals Farnborough RFC after they were promoted back into Hampshire One this season. The conditions were not ideal for running rugby but both sides immediately began open, expansive play. Both got near their opposition touch lines in the opening 25 minutes but a combination of strong defence and wrong options kept the scores blank. The Hurries front row of Andy Lodge, Yves Soufflet and NatWest man-of-the-match Ricky Harris , deserving their strong league reputation, again disrupted the visitors scrum, with the visitors No.8 having to pick up, or the ball going loose on every scrummage. The visitors broke the deadlock with a penalty 0-3, which remained the difference between the sides until half time.

The second period started with the visitors 'camped' in the Hurries 22 with some strong forward play getting within inches of the touch line, but the Hurries strong defence kept them out. At the same time as the first hail storm, Neil Buckingham sent a long downfield kick into the visitors 22, Wightlink man-of-the-match Matt Jones, caught the fullback and a quick ruck produced a close in try for Daniel Hodge which was converted by Buckingham 7-3. Minutes later, in similar circumstances Hodge went over again after poor defensive tackling, converted by again by Buckingham, 14-3. Hurries piled on the pressure as the weather deteriorated, after a close in defending scrum Jones took an interception pass to score a try in the corner,19-3. The visitors produced poor closing defence play as Hodge added two more try's both converted successfully by Buckingham. Final Score 31-3.

Hurries are away to East Dorset next week in the fifth round of the National Junior Vase competition.

Within minutes of the kick-off the visitors opened the scoring with a dropped goal, this spurred the Hurries and after several close in scrums, a solo effort from Joe Dove produced a try, 5-3. In a solo run from his own 22, NatWest man-of-the-match Will Baxandall scored a superb try, converted by Neil Buckingham, 12-3. The visitors then responded with a penalty, 12-6. From another close in scrum, which was wheeled, Dove pounced on poor defence play for another try, converted again by Buckingham,19-6. The visitors responded again with another penalty, 19-9. There then followed a near joint Hampshire Constabulary try, when Nick Heelan fed Andy Frost but he was stopped just short of the line. Charlie Sutton added another 3 points for the home side with a dropped goal of his own, HALF-TIME 22-9.

In the second half Sutton then started to put the visitors under constant pressure with long down fields kicks which they could only kick into touch. Wightlink man-of-the-match Joe Rees had a superb game moving from lock to No.8. The Hurries continued to pile on the pressure and from a close in ruck it was quickly fed out to Baxandall to score a try converted by Buckingham, 29-9. Captain Ross Edmunds took a quick penalty and fed Buckingham who scored a try, 34-9. Buckingham fed Dean Gasper who ran 22 meters to touch down, converted by Buckingham, 41-9. Within minutes, Gasper then added another try after a dash from the half way line, 46-9. A close in wheeled scrum gave Ryan Carey a simple pick and dash for a try, 51-9. The visitors fought their way up field and after several penalties, a penalty try was awarded, 51-16. Buckingham completed the days scoring when he added another two tries, FINAL SCORE 63-16.

Hurries entertained the league leaders of Sussex One in this EDF Energy, Junior Vase match. Within 2 minutes Dean Gasper was held up over the try line. After 10 minutes of pressure Will Baxandall kicked a penalty, 3-0. Both defences were canceling each other out, Ricky Harris & Nick Heelan were held up over the try line, then Wightlink man-of-the-match Greg Dean crashed over for a superb solo effort, 8-0.
The visitors turned over a lineout and with slick back play scored a try in the corner, 8-5. The visitors then kicked into the Hurries 22 only for Baxandall to gather, avoid 2 tackles and feed NatWest man-of-the-match Ross Edmunds on the half way line, he avoided tackles, dummied inside and fed Charlie Sutton on the outside for a superb try, Half Time;13-5.

The visitors started the second half strongly, and Chris Skelly was forced to make a try saving tackle in the corner. From a ruck in the visitors half, Paul Rickard quickly fed Edmunds who again avoided several tackles to score his second try, 18-5. The visitors tried to clear their line with a cross field kick which was gathered by Dan Muir who ran in a try converted by Baxandall, 25-5. The visitors then turned on the pressure and were awarded a try from a blind side break from a scrum. They continued their pressure which turned into frustration, as the Hurries kept them out, resulting in the visitors having two players sin binned. Final Score 25-10.

Hurries Team: Chris Skelly, Richard Booth, Ricky Harris, Joe & Sam Rees, Nick Heelan, Ryan Carey, Greg Dean, Paul Rickard, Charlie Sutton, Andy Frost, Ross Edmunds (Capt), Alan Morey, Dean Gasper, Will Baxandall, Danny Muir, Mike King, Danny Thomas.

Hurries host Fareham Heathens at home next Saturday KO 2.30pm .

During the build up to this top of the league clash away to Ellingham & Ringwood, the Hurries team sheet changed daily. With eight players injured, including a long term injury to captain Lee Priddle and Will Baxandall pulling out one minute before the start of the game. This gave a chance to look to the future giving the whole back line up to young Hurries recruits, with Eammon Carey, their Vectis coach, casting a watchful eye. This resulted in Hurries fielding their youngest ever side since league rugby commenced to face the league leaders, but it did not show.
For the first 20 minutes the hosts were pinned in their own half. They looked very nervous, and their coach admitted they had spent all week training to challenge the Hurries strengths, whilst the Hurries had spent all week trying to pick a team. The hosts first scrummage was wheeled for a turnover, the Hurries front row of Harris, Soufflett & Lodge added to their reputation as league leaders in scrummaging. Due to infringements and poor decision making, Hurries gained no points from this constant pressure during which the hosts lost a player to the sin bin. On 30 minutes, the hosts took an interception pass on their 22 metre line and although tackled near the line, support was there for an unconverted try 5-0. This gave the hosts confidence and soon afterwards a combination of pressure and poor passing from the Hurries, the hosts turned over a ball and scored a converted try, HALF TIME 12-0.
Ellingham & Ringwood fielded a superb kicking, fly half, whose field length accurate kicks placed the Hurries under constant pressure. After a close in scrum and going blind, the hosts scored another unconverted try 17-0. Good running from Muir & Wightlink man-of-the-match James Keyworth and support from the backrow of Carey, Booth & NatWest man-of-the-match Danny Thomas constantly moved us up field, but the hosts defence held out. Greg Dean entered the game as the Hurries were dominating the tight scrummaging. In the last 15 minutes, opportunity kicking from the fly-half and dubious support play resulted in four more tries. FINAL SCORE 36-0.

Hurries Team; Richard Booth, Alex Hiscock, James Keyworth, Daniel Muir, Andy Frost, Charlie Sutton, Joe Dove, Ricky Harris, Yves Soufflett, Andrew Lodge, Nicholas Heelan, Joe Rees, Danny Thomas, Ryan Carey, Tommy Booth, Greg Dean, Mike King, Will Baxandall.

The Hurries host East Grinstead RFC next week in the National Junior Vase, kick-off 2.30pm.

The Hurries hosted newly promoted East Dorset in perfect conditions for rugby. Within 5 minutes captain Lee Priddle was stopped just short of the try line. The game was being played in the visitors half, wave after wave of attacking rugby with the forwards and backs combining well. After a 5 metre scrum, Priddle was halted near the line again and fed Sam Rees who off loaded to Neil Buckingham, his pass allowing Mat Jones to dive over in the corner. The try was converted by Buckingham, whose field kicking placed the visitors under constant pressure, 7-0.
Richard Henry then came on for Priddle due to injury. NatWest man-of-the-match Jove Dove, Matt Jones and Wightlink man-of-the-match Greg Dean were all stopped just short of the try line. The Hurries pack took control of the scrummaging, pushing the visitors at every clash. At the end of the first half the play never left the visitors 22, Buckingham added a penalty, HALF TIME 10-0.

The 2nd half started in the same manner with constant pressure on the visitors line, then one long range kick forced the Hurries to defend, and after several close in, infringements, the visitors went over for an unconverted try, 10-5 and the Hurries lost Baxandall to the sin bin. The visitors put Hurries under pressure but a combination of good defence and infringements kept them out. Baxandall returned and after a Hurries lineout was awarded, the ball went through every three-quarter to Jones who dipped inside and fed Baxandall on the outside to score a try, converted again by Buckingham, 17-5. The Hurries scrummaging was splitting the visitors pack. Young Frank Bagnell and Nick Healan joined the fray. From another lineout, Dove made a long pass to Baxandall who fed Alan Morey to score an unconverted try in the corner, FINAL SCORE 22-5.

Match Photos >>>

Hurries Team: Will Baxendall ,Mat Jones, Ross Edmunds ,Alan Morey, Andy Frost, Neil Buckingham, Danny Thomas, Joe Dove, Ricky Harris, Yves Soufflet Chris Skelley, Sam & Joe Rees ,Lee Priddle, Greg Dean, Richard Henry, Frank Bagnell, Nick Healan.

Hurries are away next week to the league leaders Ellingham & Ringwood.

Sandown started with their usual game of taking play to their opponents and were perhaps a little surprised at the strength of Alton's defence. Alton were awarded a penalty from a Sandown infringement, 3-0. Soon afterwards, Will Baxandall missed an opportunity to score in the corner, but he was well tackled by the defence some 10 metres from the line. The Sandown forwards brought play close to the Alton try line for once the quick release of ball to the backs ended with a planned crossfield kick by Charlie Sutton to NatWest man of the match Matt Jones who rose high in the air to catch the ball and dive over for the try. Neil Buckingham converted with a difficult kick from near the touchline courtesy of one of the posts, 3-7. HALF TIME.

At the start of the second half, a number of penalty opportunities were presented to both sides, Buckingham successful with one, 3-10, then the host's turn, 6-10. Alton now pressed time and again to win the match with some good tackles being made by Jones and Edmunds and good clearances from Buckingham and Sutton. Things looked decidedly awkward for the Hurricanes when they lost a prop to the sin-bin and faced a 5 meter scrum, but they held out. The Hurricanes cleared away up field with Alton conceding a penalty out wide. Buckingham's attempt was off target and a 22 drop out followed. As Buckingham rose to catch the drop out an Alton player stupidly pushed him in the back and Buckingham duly slotted over the penalty as the last play of the game with the Hurricanes winning 6-13.
This was another unconvincing performance from the Hurricanes first string, but yet again they emerged, justifiably, with all the points and maintain second place in the top Hampshire division. Too often last season in the London League they played some excellent rugby but walked off the field as losers The rugby played, so far this season, may not have been as good, but it's results that count and the records show played 6, won 5.

On Saturday Sandown host East Dorset with a 2.30pm kick-off. It is also a sponsor and vice presidents day and the club look forward to seeing as many of supporters of the club as possible. For more details give Alan Whitehouse a call on 731650.

Hurricanes' spluttering start in Hampshire Division One continued on Saturday despite a convincing score line against New Milton. The visitors opened the scoring with an early penalty goal to take the lead amid mounting fears that Sandown's troublesome misfiring was set to continue for another week. Ponderous threequarter play by the Hurries and poor anticipation at line out and scrum time allowed New Milton to play to their strengths with Sandown caught on their heels for much of the first half.
Neil Buckingham seemed to have broken the spell after twenty minutes providing the extra man and overlap to score and convert his own try, but within two minutes New Milton had again capitalised on sleepy thinking in the Hurries defence to snatch back the lead. It took quick thinking skipper and NatWest man of the match Lee Priddle to inject acceleration and a spot of gamesmanship into the Sandown forward pack when he broke the gain line for a 12-8 lead at half time.

Buckingham added to his tally at 45 minutes with a well worked backs move and Priddle, up on his toes again, scored another try powering through the New Forest defence to make it 24-8. More slow thinking at first phase resulted in the Hurries once again being caught napping and New Milton bounced straight back with a five pointer needlessly conceded. Yves Sarkozy drove through the middle of a collapsed maul to stretch the lead to 31-13 for Sandown and the game was all but won on the hour. Further tries from Baxendale, Morey and Henry finished off any remaining New Milton hopes and one try saving tackle by young flanker Ryan Carey kept the visitors at bay in the closing stages.

All in all a good win, but if Sandown are to mount a serious threat for promotion this season, defensive and attacking anticipation will need to be much sharper in both thought and deed.

Hampshire One sides finally entered this competition at Round Three. The Hurries travelled to a difficult away tie at Millbrook. 10 minutes into the game Danny Thomas broke from a scrum and fed captain Lee Priddle who dashed to the halfway line before sending a looping curved pass to NatWest man-of-the-match Ross Edmunds . He in turn fed Andy Frost, who fed Will Baxendale who was tackle close to the host line. The ball rolled backwards and in support Wighthlink man-of-the-match Ryan Carey scooped up the ball and score an unconverted try. The Hurries dominated play both in the tight and with Charlie Sutton's long range kicking keeping the hosts pinned back in their half. One such kick led to a lineout and from the ensuing maul captain Priddle scored a superb try, converted by Baxendale. The hosts replied with some 'route-one' rugby pinning the Hurries on their line but from a turnover ball Sutton cleared the ball into touch in the hosts 22. From an infringement at the lineout, Baxendale added another 3 points from a penalty. Half Time 0-15.

The Hurries have picked up a habit of taking the foot of the pressure in recent games and again they did not disappoint. Straight from the kick off, the hosts chipped a ball over the defence and won the race for a converted try, 7-15. This raised the hopes of the hosts and soon afterwards again, from 'route-one' rugby, they added another converted try,14-15. The Hurries raised their game and from several phases of play and rucks, Priddle again went over for an unconverted try in the corner 14-20. Soon afterwards again with some multiphase rugby, Edmunds added another penalty, 14-23. The hosts did not give up and pressed play down to the Hurries line, where they were awarded a close in converted try. FINAL SCORE 21-23

Match Photos >>>

Team: Chris Skelley, Eves Souffle, Dave Steel, Sam & Joe Rees, Ryan Carey, Lee Priddle, Greg Dean, Danny Thomas, Charlie Sutton, Dean Gasper, Ross Edmunds, Matt Jones, Andy frost, Will Baxendale, Charlie Holbrook, Mike King, Alex Hisock & Sam Dove.

Hurries host New Milton next week in a league game.

The Hurricanes travelled to newly promoted Fordingbridge. The early play for both sides was in the centre of the field, with the opposition giving an early display of their strength in the backs. Fifteen minutes in, after a close in infringement, Hurries went down to a penalty, 3-0. Soon after in the the Hurries debut stand-off Charlie Sutton, went blind, feeding winger Mat Jones. He chipped the defence sprinting down the touchline with one man to run around, a try beckoned. He was then clinically body checked to the ground. From the ensuing penalty NatWest Man-of-the-match, Neil Buckingham leveled the scores, 3-3. The opposition then failed a couple of penalty kicks and from a Hurries quick-drop out another infringement gave Buckingham another long distance penalty score, 6-3. The opposition threw everything at the Hurries and from a 5 metre penalty, tried a practiced move that failed, and Hurries cleared their line. Half Time 3-6.

The opposition again came out with pressure rugby and within 5 minutes, with a slick three-quarter move ran in an unconverted try into the corner, 8-6. Immediately from the kick-off, the ball was fed out to Dean Gasper who was hauled down just short of the line by 4 defenders. Both sides were attacking with at times, attractive rugby. The Hurries pack were now starting to dominate. The opposition, whose first 7 lineout throws were not straight were under pressure at the lineout and the set piece, where the Hurries front row of Skelly, Soufflet and Wightlink man-of-the-match, Mike King,were wheeling most scrums.

Full back Buckingham attacked down the wing chipped the defence and the same player from the first half attempted another body check but Buckingham avoided him. Six metres out, the opposition defence gathered the ball but the Hurries arrived in numbers rucking over forcing a turnover ball. The ball was quickly fed out by Rickard to prop Skelly, who before being upended passed to Morey, who cleverly chipped a ball over the defence into the dead-ball area. Gasper won the chase and touched down for an unconverted try, 8-11.

In the last quarter, the oppositions fitness started to fade as the Hurries finished strong with rolling mauls and lots of possession, but a combination of strong defence and Hurries infringements kept them out. Buckingham finished off the day with a penalty, Final Score 8-14.

Team; King, Soufflet, Skelly, Booth, Tolley, Thomas, Priddle, Dean, Rickard, Sutton, Morey, Muir, Jones, Gasper, Buckingham, Rees, Carey.

The Hurricanes rediscovered Hampshire Division rugby when they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on Saturday. After a season of London Division rugby where the Islanders competed proudly, this fixture was billed as the first step to bouncing back into the higher division. Southampton hadn't read the script and despite the Hurries having an almost total dominance of every facet of the game Southampton never gave up and provided a lesson to Sandown in the art of resilience and old-fashioned up-the-jumper rugby. Sandown gave away a half time lead, a crushing superiority at scrum time, and pace in the back line that left the visitors gasping for breath. Southampton brought confrontation, plodding mauls and a refusal to lie down.

Harris rolled around from a static ruck to open the scoring, converted by Buckingham, closely followed by an exchange of penalties for infringements. Southampton's plodding mauls may not be attractive but it was effective and a well practiced line out move resulted in a try to keep them in touch as half time approached. Sam Tolley stretched the lead with a try before finding himself judged as the offender in an unsavory scuffle and sent to the sin bin for ten minutes. Within a minute Jones had followed Tolley to the sidelines as the referee deemed his attempted interception to be a deliberate knock on and the Hurries were down to thirteen men either side of the half time break.

Southampton took advantage with another driving maul try and crept back into the game, despite conceding penalties, and losing their winger to a red card for head-butting NatWest man of the match Matt Jones. Neil Buckingham seemed to have left his kicking boots back in Basra as the Hurries' normally dead-eyed kicker missed a series of scoring chances, and when Dean Gasper was hauled up a metre short of the line after a typical powerhouse run the score line was feeling too close for comfort. Southampton's old timers recognised an opportunity and scored a breakaway try from turnover ball in the last minute of play to leave the islanders reflecting on a game that they dominated in most areas.
The Hurries will need to be more clinical at finishing off opponents if they are to dominate games in this lower division where the pace may be slower but forwards know how to maul.

Hurricanes hosted Harlequin Amateurs RFC in this last trial game before the league season kick off. On a sweltering hot August day, both teams provided some entertaining rugby. Again played in four 20-minute slots with plenty of water breaks. In the first period the visitors, apart from one long range kick, failed to get out of their 22 meters. Wave after wave of Hurricane attacks were halted on the line by a strong defence/infringements. The only score coming from a Neil Buckingham penalty 3-0. The back row combination of Thomas, Tolley and captain Lee Priddle were particularly lively, also the two Rees brothers, Sam & Joe with their tackling rate at 100%. The Hurries team included Paul Rickard, at scrum half, back on a visit to the Island and also the debut of their French hooker and NatWest man-of-the-match Yves Soufflet.
In the 3rd quarter most of the play was in the centre of the field, until a scrummage on the visitors 22 meter line. Rickard went blind and after a short dash fed Kiwi stand-off Stefan Vogrincic who ran in for an unconverted try. Stefan returns to New Zealand soon, and will be able to boast about scoring for the real Hurricanes.
Hurries made constant changes to get some of the younger players some experience on the field. In the final quarter the Hurries again pressed the visitors line and eventually captain Priddle, on one of his typical charges, powered over for a try. This was successfully converted by Buckingham. FINAL SCORE Hurries 15 - Harlequin Amateurs 0.

The Hurricanes kicked off their season with a trial game of 4 - 20 minute sessions against a touring side from Folkestone RFC, which was made up of players from three clubs in that area of Kent. With the rain coming down hard, both sides still managed some attractive handling rugby. The visitors scored first with a converted try early on which, the hosts replied with an unconverted try by Sam Tolly. The visitors scored another converted try in that quarter. On the first change around and now with the wind, the Hurries scored another converted try by Steve Healy, duly converted by Neil Buckingham who had arrived back on Tuesday, from duties in the Middle East.

The front row of Neil's father, Johnny Buckingham, Gareth Thomas & Mike King, together with Joe Rees played all 4 quarters. With 20 other threequarters and forwards to view, there were constant changes made at each quarter. The visitors scored another two unconverted tries. These were replied by two unconverted tries from Sam Tolly and Ross McFarlaine. It all hinged on the final penalty kick of the game from Buckingham, Hurries won 25-24.

Hurries entertain Harlequin Amateurs RFC next Saturday (25th Aug) for another trial game. Anybody interested in having a run out please bring your boots along and you are guaranteed time on the pitch.