THE games are coming thick and fast for Basingstoke RFC this month and next is a trip to Hampshire rivals Portsmouth.

The south coast side enjoyed a great victory last weekend which knocked leaders London Cornish 19-5 off top side.

This allowed Basingstoke’s victors Cobham to go top of the South West Two, after they won 53-0. A result which captain Rob Northcote felt did not reflect the hard work of his side.

In front of a bumper crowd at Down Grange, Stoke only trailed 13-0 at half-time, battling against the wind and playing up the hill. David Byett made some great headway before the break which was not rewarded.

After the interval, the home side managed to string a few good phases together, which saw Warren Simmonds come close after a great little chip over the ruck by Mikey Jacobs.

Then after the hour mark, the visitors took control and racked up most of their points. Stoke’s man of the match went to full back Matt Woodhouse.

Northcote said: “First and foremost I would like to say a huge thank you to all that came and supported the team. I know for a fact the guys get a huge boost when they see numbers on the touchline.”

He added: “Our lineout worked well for the majority of the game along with our set piece.

“Also whenever we got clean, quick ball our backs looked really dangerous.

“This is all a product of the hard work and commitment the guys have bought into and one that I’m very confident will pay off very soon.”

After the game against Portsmouth, Stoke have another Hampshire derby game, a week on Saturday, when they entertain Andover at Down Grange.