VENTNOR Rugby Club suffered a disappointing loss to Romsey — failing to capitalise on the confidence gained from a strong performance the previous week.

VENTNOR 19, ROMSEY 45

From the first whistle, Romsey showed great determination, putting pressure on Ventnor, in front of a good crowd at Watcombe Bottom.

Despite a solid performance in the set scrum, with Dan Lythgoe, Lewis Jones and Jack Rushton winning their battles, Ventnor struggled in the opening 20 minutes.

Missed tackles allowed Romsey to score two converted tries, which, coupled with a high penalty count, hampered Ventnor's efforts.

Ventnor rallied after a huge kick from Fred Fairman, with pressure from Joe Coghlan, Ed Blake and Ben Souter, which led to Lewis Jones crashing over the line, bringing the score to 5–14.

With the line-out improving and fly-half Harry Ottley finding his rhythm, Ventnor began to look more dangerous.

A well-timed kick ahead set up Ben Cooper, who, in for the injured Tom Crews, dived over for a try, converted by Souter.

As half-time approached, the score stood at 12–14, with Ventnor gaining momentum.

At the break, Ventnor made several changes, including George Collett moving to the front row, and Iain Reeves making his first team debut.

However, the second half brought frustration to Ventnor, who reverted to running the ball from deep, which led to turnovers and penalties against them.

Romsey capitalised, scoring five tries without reply.

The home team managed a penalty try and a notable run by Louis Wyatt, but overall, it was a disappointing end to the match.

Cooper, Gilbey and Coghlan showed defiance throughout, with the latter eventually leaving the field injured after a crunching tackle.