A trip to another top side in Nat 2 East, as Havant played Barnes who finished runners-up last season. Will Knight making a couple of changes in the squad with Ben Holt fit again at scrum-half and Tam Lindsay starting in the front row. Wes Dugan dropped to the bench with Jez Smith coming up from the Dolphins.
A beautiful sunny afternoon greeted the players as the rolled onto the pitch with a small partisan crowd intent on giving the home side the advantage. Little did they know about the faithful!
Havant certainly started the brighter giving the home side food for thought and with better accuracy could have found themselves several tries to the good before we saw what Barnes could do.
On twenty minutes Havant really should of scored but Barnes managed to scramble the ball to halfway with Havant showing no regard for Barnes lofty position in the league.
Finally on twenty-eight minutes Jack Phillips found some space out wide, despite the attention of several players scored Havant's opening points much to the delight of the traveling fans. Joel Knight's conversion just a whisker away from going over.
The game continued in the same fashion with Barnes very flat, and Havant continuing to attack at will. But the blue and white hoops were thwarted on several more incursions deep in side the Barnes 22.
Finally the pressure told and Joel Knight had a simple penalty to knock over giving Havant the lead at half-time.

Half-time Barnes 0 Havant 8

The 2nd period kicked off with Havant still in the changing rooms, as poor tackling gave Barnes two tries in the opening five minutes, advantage Barnes at 12-8.
A Joel Knight penalty settled the nerves at 12-11 with the game see-sawing between attack and defence for the away side.
Another Joel Knight penalty minutes later had Havant back in front, surely not a win at the high flyers? 12-14 the score.
Wes Dugan came off the bench then went off for a high shot a yellow this time, Barnes took advantage and scored their third try of the afternoon with a sweeping move. Making the score 19-14.
Havant were certainly not out of the game and more pressure inside the 22 from the pack who were on top form, saw Cam Boa add to his two tries last week with another, game on! As they say, Havant had their noses back in front with minutes to go.
A long kick up field and winger Ben Griffin was caught in a offside position, the resulting penalty was deep into Havant territory, the catch and drive trundled its way to the try line looking like an odds on try for Barnes when the referee awarded a penalty, then a penalty try and a yellow card for Ross Parkins, cheers from the home crowd whilst the faithful looked stunned from the sidelines. Barnes were back in front, with the clock deep in the red, the score now 26-21.
One more chance for Havant running hard at the Barnes defence, the ball thrown out wide caught by a Barnes players who ran in from the half-way line, clearly offside!!! but the try stood and Barnes snatched away what would of been a deserved bonus point for Havant.
A huge congratulations to Joel Knight who made his 268th league appearance, I've probably witnessed 98% of his games, he has been the heartbeat of this club for the last 14 seasons, playing with passion, power and integrity, and if you ever listen to his team talks you'll have a tear in your eye. A true legend at our club, probably the best.

Full-time Barnes 33 Havant 21

Will Knight's thoughts
"A hugely frustrating loss. We worked hard to get ourselves into a winning position and allowed it to slip. We played some good rugby and were competitive throughout but our discipline in terms of both penalties and decision-making is hurting us. This will be a key focus as we prepare for a key game next weekend."