Isle of Wight Rugby began 2026 in emphatic fashion on Saturday (17th January) with a commanding home victory over Portsmouth II, avenging a defeat earlier in the season.
In their belated first outing of the year, the Rangers produced a dominant first-half display that underlined their recent progress. Early pressure told when George Huish slotted an opening penalty, setting the tone for what was to follow.
Portsmouth attempted to build phases, but the Island defence was relentless, with Dan Bishop, Sam McQueen and James Webster leading the charge and forcing repeated errors. From one such turnover, centre Aidan Wan collected loose ball deep inside his own half and carved through the defence for a spectacular individual try, Huish converting for a 10-0 lead.
With confidence growing, the Island scrum began to dominate. Sustained pressure led to a quick-tap penalty close to the line, and captain Luke Blackman powered over from close range. Continued forward supremacy then released Aaron Young, who finished well out wide after slick handling, Huish converting from the touchline to make it 22-0.
A scrappy passage of play ended with Blackman grounding the bonus-point try, the conversion leaving Isle of Wight 29-0 ahead at the interval.
Half Time: Isle of Wight 29-0 Portsmouth II
Portsmouth struck first after the restart with a converted try, but any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished. Huish responded with a penalty, while continued scrum pressure and fierce tackling frustrated the visitors.
Blackman completed his hat-trick after Huish was held just short, before Wan added his second try of the afternoon following a clever offload to round off the scoring.
Full Time: Isle of Wight 44-7 Portsmouth II
Isle of Wight: Young, Browne, Wan, Sanderson, Jones-Evans, Huish, Vickers, Savill, McQueen, Newnham, Blackburn, D Bishop, Amer, Webster, L Blackman. Subs: J Bishop, Lynch.
After the match, coach Neil Evans said: “The boys will be very happy with the result. We are moving forward.”
Isle of Wight are back at home this Saturday, hosting Winchester.
