Hurricanes secure Counties 1 Hampshire status with vital victory

THE Hurricanes secured their position in Counties 1 Hampshire for next season.

HURRICANES 19, GOSPORT & FAREHAM 15

Sandown and Shanklin RFC faced Gosport and Fareham RFC at the Fairway Ground in their final home fixture of the season, winning 19-15.

The opening exchanges were fiercely contested, with both sides seeking to dominate.

(Image: Hugh Griffiths) The visitors launched the first attack, but the Hurricanes’ defence stood firm.

The Hurricanes then countered, and despite pressure at the set piece, Tom Marriott’s pass found winger Ash Smith, who sprinted past the Gosport defence to open the scoring.

Burr’s conversion narrowly missed, leaving the score at 5-0.

However, the visitors quickly retaliated, levelling the scores at 5-5 after finding space out wide.

Sandown continued to search for another score and were denied twice, as they were held up over the try line.

Action from the Hurricanes v Gosport & Fareham match. (Image: Hugh Griffiths) The visitors attempted to clear their lines, but possession was lost and the ball was collected by Zak Chiverton, who scored.

Burr successfully converted, increasing Sandown’s advantage to 12-5.

A penalty kick from Gosport just before half-time closed the gap to 12-8.

The second half began with both sides trying to gain the upper hand.

Gosport applied territorial pressure in the Sandown 22, resulting in a yellow card for Michael Barrett due to repeated infringements.

Despite being down to 14 men, the Hurricanes’ defence held firm and Ant Burr seized an opportunity to sprint the length of the field and score, extending the Hurricanes’ margin to 19-8.

(Image: Hugh Griffiths) Chiverton was later sent to the sin bin for a high tackle, leaving the Hurricanes down to 14 men again.

The visitors finally breached Sandown’s try line, narrowing the score to 19-15.

The Sandown bench made an impact to help stem the tide, with Adam Tyas and Ben Shannon strengthening the scrum.

In the final minute of the game, the Hurricanes were shown their third card as George Finan was penalised for a high tackle.

This presented the away side with one last chance to attack, but Chiverton regained possession for the Hurricanes, allowing Shannon to clear the ball into touch to bring the game to a close.