Hastings & Bexhill 34 Petersfield 5: PETERSFIELD took a two-hour road trip eastward along the coast to meet Hastings and Bexhill in the Hampshire Cup.

Unfortunately the Red team could not repeat the success of their previous cup outing against Woking and succumbed to Hastings’ greater strength. Disappointingly for coach Andy Patience, his team were somewhat exposed by the lack of players willing to travel and only a bare 15 made it to the match. With Field stripped of their influential winger – Aaron Cartwright – through injury, the remaining 14 were required to battle hard to stop a rout.

Field’s captain, Gareth Crane, scored the try that prevented the match from being a whitewash; penned in their own 22, Hastings’ robust defence was undone by a deft chip by Jameson which Belcher swept up popping to the sprightly Crane to touch down despite the close attention of the scrambling defence.