BASINGSTOKE RFC avenged another early season defeat as they won at Battersea Ironsides 10-7 in the London Three South West.

Talking after the game, captain Robbie Northcote said: "The Battersea game was a tough game and we very extremely pleased with the result. "They’re not an easy team to beat and they defend and slow the ball down very well.

He added: "Massive credit to our guys who never stopped pushing for that win, it showed some great character especially as we were down for a fair amount of the second half.

"Our defence within our own 22m was very good and despite not being able to win 100 per cent of our set piece we did attack very well.

"It was also a very boggy pitch so there wasn’t any real pace on the game, perfect for medium paced forwards but probably not much fun for our pace men."

Stoke took the lead in a hard fought contest at Battersea thanks to a James Ephraim penalty.

The home side had the chance to level things with their own penalty, but this was missed so Stoke took a slender lead into the second half.

In a game of few chances, the home side took the lead around the hour mark, as their winger was able to run in and score which gave them a 7-3 lead.

Battersea came looking for a second try, but the visitor’s defence stood firm.

With time running out, the home side were gifted a couple of penalties and soon found themselves on the Battersea five metre line.

They were then given another penalty and went for a line-out which was taken by skipper Robbie Northcote.

This was the platform and Simon Appleby looked set to go over, but was stopped.

Stoke continued with a couple more phases and Dave Lambert was able to force his way over for a try. Ephraim made no mistake with the conversion, to earn his side a 10-3 victory.

This kept Stoke firmly in fourth place and they now have a week off before they entertain Old Tiffinians on Saturday January 28.