Ellingham were determined to get revenge for the loss at the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Within seconds of the kick off, The E’s pack turned over the ball, got it out to their backs, who with great hands, worked the ball wide to winger Josh Butcher who showed great strength to go over in the corner. 5-0. From the restart, Andover came straight back and secured 3 points from a well taken penalty. 5-3. Ellingham extended their lead on the quarter hour when Phil Osman carried the ball over following a powerful drive from his pack. Dawfydd Williams converted the extra 2 points. 12-3. Ellingham were now on top and had another chance to extend their lead, which Williams did from a penalty. 15-3. Against the run of play, Andover worked the ball wide left on the halfway line, but were pushed back by a strong and disciplined defence, the Andover full back was then forced to kick high. His kick landed between two Ellingham defenders, took a wicked bounce infield and landed comfortably in the arms of Andover’s chasing Stand Off, allowing him to trot under the posts unopposed. The conversion was made and the score closed to 15-10. Undeterred, Ellingham fought straight back and worked the ball up field. Following several well controlled phases, No. 8 Jamie Sanders picked and drove from the back of a ruck to go over for a try. 20-10. With just a few moments before the break, Ellingham scored the try of the match. The forwards secured quick ball at a ruck and Williams spun the ball out quickly to centre Phil Osman. Straightening his run he put the Andover defence on their heels with a majestic double dummy, before off loading to Richard Major who’s beautifully angled run sent him straight under the posts in front off the 150 strong home crowd. Williams kicked the extras. 27-10. Following a high scoring first half, the second half unbelievably produced no more points as both teams cancelled each other out. Ellingham’s Head Coach Steve Anderson said after the game “We were under pressure to perform well this week following last week’s performance. The guys came out firing on all cylinders, and I don’t think any team in the league could have lived with us in the first half. The forwards did the hard graft and allowed our backs to show us what we all know they are capable of. I was really pleased with the way Williams played at Scrum Half considering it’s not his desired position. We seemed to take our foot off the gas in the second half which is concerning, but all due credit to Andover. They changed their game plan and stopped us from adding to the score, but I don’t think they threatened us too much.”