The first match of the season, in the Hampshire Cup, saw Alton come out unlucky losers 21 - 12 against Fareham Heathens.
From the start Alton's forwards dominated the set piece to such an extent that whenever a scrum was awarded the Fareham coaches commented "Might as well not bother with the scrum, just give you the ball, your forwards are winning everything."
Both Alton tries came from strong scrums with Number 8, John Milne, taking a pick and go to drive over the line on both occasions. Fly half Sam McKenzie converted one from in front of the posts and was incredibly unlucky not to convert the second from a very difficult angle near the touch line (he hit the crossbar).
Ultimately, despite the strong forward play, it was weak tackling that let Fareham through to score a third, match winning, try.
A good, well contested, game played in great spirit by both sides sees Alton B now progress to the Hampshire Bowl.