FARNBOROUGH moved even further ahead at the top of Hampshire 1 following their 32-17 victory over Petersfield and with Trojans, their nearest rivals, left kicking their heels.

Trojans' match at Hamble had to be postponed because there were still large frozen divots on the pitch at 2pm.

Guernsey now pose the biggest threat to Trojans finishing runners-up to Farnborough after moving into third place thanks to an 11-10 win at Ventnor. Trojans, however, are two points ahead and have a game in hand.

Had skipper Dave Martin succeeded with a late penalty attempt Ventnor would have recorded a rare victory. Martin had earlier landed a penalty to level the scores at half-time and converted a try to edge Ventnor in front, before Guernsey regained the lead with a penalty five minutes from time.

Ventnor's Warren Fresle said: "We're very disappointed with the result. The game could have gone either way, with both sides missing kicks."

The players of Sandown & Shanklin and Millbrook had to resort to throwing buckets of hot water on a frozen section of the pitch to enable their game to go ahead. It must have been worth it as Sandown hung on for a 19-13 win.

Millbrook's Kevin Byatt reported: "It was a good game, one of the best of the season. It was a really close battle with all the scoring in the first-half, but we couldn't break through for the winning score despite pinning them back after half-time."

Romsey squeezed home 28-24 at New Milton despite giving a below-par performance with an admittedly below full strength team.

Fordingbridge ran in four tries to defeat Portcastrians 31-0 in Hampshire 2 after suffering a torrid opening 15 minutes against a very physical side.

Later play showed Fordingbridge in their true light as they bounced back from last week's cup defeat.

Eastleigh suffered disappointment yet again, this time losing 35-6 at Lytchett Minster. This was a more encouraging performance by Eastleigh, who were only 10-6 down at half-time but suffered from having no replacement when Barry Meech broke an ankle.

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