Gosport & Fareham had a disappointing start to their 2019/20 season after a 11-20 home defeat against Old Tiffinians. Pre-season training had gone well and there was an air of excitement and expectation at Gosport Park prior to kick off.

It was the visitors however who started the stronger and had much of the early field position and it was from a rolling maul following a line out in the corner that the away side took the lead with a try on 6 minutes.

Although it was Gosport who had the higher penalty count against them in the first half, it was actually from a penalty awarded to Gos in the 18th minute that Dom Holling brought the score back to 3-5.

The Old Tiffinian rolling maul was once again Gosport’s undoing 6 minutes later and they scored a further try after one of their players broke free from the maul to get over the line. With 5 minutes left to play in the first half, Holling’s penalty from just inside the half way line crept over with inches to spare to make the half time score 6-10.

Discipline was a topic of discussion at the break and in the second half Gosport started much the stronger. If possession won matches then Gos would have been home and dry but unfortunately, despite being camped on the Old Tiffinian try line on numerous occasions, their occasional lack of discipline in attack meant they were unable to take the points that their possession deserved.

Against the run of play on the 63rd minute, Old Tiffinians scored a further try which was, on this occasion converted leaving Gos a mountain to climb. Their willingness to keep fighting though meant Gosport got ever closer to scoring and their perseverance paid off with 6 minutes to go when debutant Ratu Natolaivalu scored in the corner. Unfortunately, this was to be the final score of the match and home side ended without a point.

After the game, head coach George Hillan took a philosophical view about the result knowing that there were still plenty of positives to come out of the game. “This was a new side with new combinations across the park and these take time to gel. I was pleased that the lads were really disappointed with the result because it means that they care and they know that they have the capability to win matches like today. They want to take how they felt at the final whistle and turn that feeling into a positive. We know as a group where we need to develop and we’ll continue to build going forward”

Gosport’s next match is on 21st September away against Weybridge Vandals.