PORTSMOUTH 22 - BASINGSTOKE 30

Basingstoke moved into the final of the Hampshire Worthington Cup with a workmanlike performance against a determined Portsmouth team.

For 70 minutes Portsmouth controlled the action. Fly-half Stuart McLaughlin, in particular, had an outstanding match, continually putting 'Stoke on the back foot. However, when he was forced to leave the field with a shoulder injury, Portsmouth lost their momentum and Basingstoke snatched victory.

Portsmouth made a furious start and hooker Mansbridge was driven over from a lineout to put them ahead.

Although the home side conceded a penalty immediately after, which Northcote struck well, it was Portsmouth who went further ahead five minutes on.

After good work by Pegler, they moved the ball swiftly to the right for winger Erskine to score and then convert his own try for 12-3.

Worse was to come for the north county team when fly-half Stuart McLaughlin sold Northcote an outrageous dummy and sauntered in under the posts, although, inexplicably, Erskine missed the conversion.

The visitors redeemed some dignity before the break when a solid 20-metre drive resulted in their winger going over from quick ball to the right. They trailed 17-13 at half-time.

Basingstoke took the game by stages of control after the restart - their pack forcing a penalty which Northcote converted.

Portsmouth came back hard and fly-half McLaughlin pushed his forwards closer to the 'Stoke line, winning a string of penalties. From the third of these came the try of the match.

A determined drive on the right had seen the ball move nearly 30 metres inside the 'Stoke 22. Jamie McLaughlin feinted right and everybody went there except Cox at centre and Erskine, a lone figure out on the Portsmouth left. Cox cleverly knocked the ball across field for the speeding Erskine to collect and run in to score. However, then came McLaughlin's sad injury and the control slipping away from Portsmouth.

Calder's men regained the lead with a try and they rounded off an impressive performance in the dying minutes by moving the ball quickly left from a series of rucks for Northcote to chip over the defence for Kirwan to touch down for the final score.

Basingstoke's director of rugby, Ian Calder, was generous in his praise of his opponents after the game. "They controlled the game well," said the former North Harbour centre, "but we started to put phases together and Portsmouth losing their number ten made all the difference. It gave us time to regroup and score two quick tries."

Portsmouth's Ian Chandler was sanguine about the outcome. "Sure, we're disappointed, but the boys played well and we've learnt a lot today," he said.

Andover finished a long weekend by making a fruitless journey to Jersey and missing cup glory by two points - 22-20.

Andover turned around 15-8 down, having put a try by Greg Patterson and a penalty by player-coach Keith Mitchell on the board.

They then took the lead on the hour, with a further try from Matt Ball and converted try from Fijian Ruskivula, before the Islanders came back with their own converted try to deny the north Hants team any further progress.