Romsey held on to top spot in Snows Group Hampshire 2 as the battle to dominate the division continued.

All four leading sides won their games – with pacesetters Romsey clocking up the biggest victory margin over a defiant Southsea Nomads team.

The Portsmouth club arrived full of confidence with three wins from four matches and struck first on a boggy pitch at the Sports Centre.

The visitors hit the ground running, bullying the home side back over their own line with some strong running and formidable forward play to score in the corner in the opening minutes.

Romsey’s pack quickly shored up the tight play and took back control of the scrums.

With a steady platform in front of them, Jim Windibank, in his first start at fly-half, let loose the backs to score one try of their own following a period of aggressive defensive play.

Romsey held strong, going in to half-time 23-10 in front following tries from Andy Herriot, Alex Hill and two from Will Farthing.

Despite continued resilience from their stoical opposition, Romsey stuck to their task as the forwards ran hard and the backs ran fast, creating ample opportunity for running rugby on a water-logged pitch.

In the final quarter Nomads crumbled under the continued pressure and Romsey ran in two unanswered tries from Dan Penn-Newman and a third for Will Farthing.

“At no point did Nomads relent,” said man-of-the-match Farthing.

“They were ferocious from the kick off and as good a side as any we have played throughout the first half.”