FOLLOWING yet another loss, the Hurricanes rugby team will be aiming to stop the rot in Hampshire Counties 1 this weekend when they face struggling Trojans.

BASINGSTOKE 41, HURRICANES 10

Sandown and Shanklin RFC lost on the road to a strong Basingstoke side, in a hard-fought match.

Despite starting strongly, with an early try from Wayne Williams, the Islanders struggled to keep up with their opponents.

The Hurricanes began the season in fine form, but have fallen away since October. (Image: SSRFC) Their efforts were hindered by ill-discipline, resulting in Williams being sent to the sin bin just before half-time, with the score stood at 22-5.

The start of the second half was therefore a challenge as the Hurricanes battled on with only 14 men on the field.

However, the Islanders showed great resilience — conceding only one try during the sin-binning period.

The Hurries finally gained some possession, thanks to solid scrummaging from Darren Carew.

Debutant, Gary Warvill, made an impact with a mazy run, but the side was unable to convert their pressure into points, due to a string of handling errors.

The home side capitalised on Sandown's poor discipline, scoring from a driving maul.

Sandown lost Carew to injury, bringing in Jamie Dilk, who showed his commitment to the cause by playing straight after working a night shift.

Rhys Mundell and Chris Ormorod also put in commendable performances.

The Hurricanes' hard work paid off when Hugo Joliffe made a powerful run to score Sandown's second try.

However, fatigue set in and Basingstoke scored a couple of long-range tries, to end the game on the back foot.