Bottom At The Bottom: Ventnor Struggles Continue As Fareham 'Ruck' Up Comfortable Win

Ventnor Rugby Club's 1st XV's woes continued at the weekend, with a heavy defeat to second placed Fareham Heavens 1st XV in the Hampshire Counties 3 League.

Ventnor's home ground - Watcombe Bottom - was the scene for a turbulent afternoon which saw the Island side slump to an eighth defeat in nine matches this season, now propping up the table.

Jake Babington led out the team against the high-flying Heathens, who were on top form and will surely be contesting for top honours at the end of the season.

To the delight of their travelling support, the visitors scored five tries in the first half and converted four of them so the game was pretty much over as a contest before the break.

Despite the complete annihilation they suffered over the course of 80 minutes, Ventnor has a couple of fleeting moments of promise, culminating with Souter and Crews feeding Colson, who crashed over for the long-awaited Ventnor try which Cooper converted.

Potential season saviour, 'Wunderkind' Layton Greatorex, made an inaugural appearance on the first team bench, with fans urging his introduction as he inches closer to starting at this level.

That exciting prospect and the converted try apart, it was another disappointing display from a depleted Ventnor side, who simply couldn't match far superior opposition on the day... Sadly a tale all too familiar during this painstaking campaign.

The final score, a 55-7 defeat, could have been worse as Fareham took their foot off the gas in the second half, having established a 33-0 lead at halftime.

The table doesn't make good reading for the Islanders:

Team: Collett, Harrison, Price, Coltham, Teague, Richardson, Colson, L.Morton, Souter, Crews, Fairman, Cooper, Cocks, E.Blake, Babington (capt).
Subs: Rushton, Broomfield, Greatorex
Ventnor Man of the Match: Ben Souter
Next match: Saturday 2 December sees Ventnor 1st XV play away at fellow strugglers Aldershot & Fleet.