IN THEIR first-ever visit to Christchurch, Isle of Wight clinched a victory — one which has hoisted them into the top three again.

CHRISTCHURCH 16, ISLE OF WIGHT 24

Despite the hosts' strong start, Island centre pair Sam McQueen and Harri Jones-Evans held them at bay — the backbone of an impermeable defence.

It was in stark contrast to the Islanders' two recent defeats.

The Islanders' first try was scored by Brad Martin, swiftly followed by a Luke Blackman trademark touchdown from a run 40m out, with George Huish converting the try.

Christchurch settled for gaining points from penalties, which helped halve their deficit, leaving a half-time score of 12-6 in Isle of Wight' favour.

The second half saw little shift in the balance of power.

While the Islanders' scrum was strong, it was Christchurch’s faulty kicking in their own territory that opened up a third score — Huish collecting and scoring from midfield, then converting his own try.

However, Christchurch kept up the fight, adding another penalty and a try to their score tally.
With the score now 19-16 in favour of Isle of Wight, the travelling Rangers looked to dominate the closing stages.

Notably, a break by Ian Bennett, supported by Cam Browne, was a whisker away from scoring — Blackman and McQueen denied on the try line.

So were Jones-Evans and Wynyard-Wright, down to some desperate Christchurch.

Aidan Martin's last-minute heroics eventually made sure of victory to the Islanders — bundling over, following a period of relentless pressure on the home line, to seal a hard-fought win with the game's conclusive play.

IWRFC: Young, C.Browne, Jones-Evans, McQueen, Rolfe, Huish, Lockhart, Newnham, Bennett, Keyes, B.Martin, A.Martin, Bishop, Webster, Blackman, S.Browne, Wynyard-Wright.