Basingstoke Rugby Club are within two points of relegation safety following a convincing win over fellow strugglers Havant.
The Down Grange side are third from bottom in the Nation London 3 division behind Havant.
The relegation clash at Down Grange on Saturday saw Basingstoke win 20-3 in a performance that saw Havant fail to score in the second half.
And with five matches of the season remaining, ’Stoke will hope to carry the momentum of two consecutive wins after breaking a six-game losing streak.
Within 10 minutes of the start, Basingstoke fly-half Ceri Cummings opened the scoring with a three-point penalty.
And seven points swiftly followed. After winning back possession in their half, ’Stoke drove through phases into the Havant 22.
Ratu Komaisavai then spotted a gap in the visitors’ defence and touched down under the posts and Cummings added the conversion.
The try scorer was then penalised after the restart for failing to release from the tackle and Havant opened their scoring with a penalty.
The scores remained unchanged up to half time, despite a strong chance from Glen Lewis.
The second period saw the advantage shift to the home side, playing downhill and with a tail wind.
And the side opened the half with another three points from Cummings.
Freddie Gleadowe got the second ’Stoke try of the day. Cummings punched through a gap in the defence, off-loading to Gleadowe, who set it down under the posts. Cummings added the conversion.
Havant responded by rearranging their back line and two breaks from the fly-half kept the home side on their toes. But Havant were unable to add any more points and at the final whistle a jubilant ’Stoke took home the points.
An on-form Basingstoke will fancy their chances on Saturday when they face second-from-bottom North Walsham at home.
