Ellingham & Ringwood played their second game of the weekend on Sunday, when they entertained league leaders Gosport & Fareham for the Semi-Final of the Hampshire Gales Bowl. Following a roast lunch in Ellingham’s plush new clubhouse, the crowd, including special guest President of Hampshire RFU Mike Glogg, trudged outside to stand by a very muddy, sticky pitch. The conditions underfoot had a real affect on the final result, as Ellingham’s normal free flowing, fast and furious style of play was completely nullified. Gosport however, revelled in the conditions as they have a strong pack and tend to trundle up the middle of the park anyway. Ellingham were quickly behind 0-15, but fought back to 10-15 by half time with a try from Josh Butcher and a conversion and penalty from Dawfydd Williams. The second half saw Gosport continue to dominate the scrums, giving Ellingham no easy ball. Even when they did get the ball to their backs, it was almost impossible to change direction or accelerate without slipping. Gosport stretched their lead to 10-22, leaving Ellingham chasing the game. The E’s threw everything they had at Gosport, but could only manage a consolation try right at the end making the final score 15-22. After the game, Skipper Robbie Mitchell said “We are getting closer to beating Gosport. We stayed in the game well, considerating their dominance of the scrum. We have a certain style of play, which doesn’t suit these conditions. It is something we are working on. It was very hard work out there, especially as we played yesterday too. We are not using that as an excuse, as Gosport played yesterday as well. We wish them luck in the final.”