This was the case on a number of occasions when any of the Surrey team were faced with having to take a tackle from the imposing blind-side flanker. His high level work rate was soon rewarded with his first try for Hampshire where he used his leg drive and pure strength to push over Surrey's try line, allowing Hampshire to level at 7-7.

Cody’s mobility around the park was also impressive.

He made sure he set the defensive lines and made the critical tackles when Surrey looked dangerous. This gave Hampshire the time to reset and get up in defence. He was also very quick to shut Surrey's fly-half down after a defensive scrum allowing Hampshire to regain possession.

Ben Willis, Hampshire's lead coach, said he was immensely proud of the performance, progress and ability that has been shown during the season.

In addition to this game there was a development side against Surrey B and also a further match against Middlesex. Hampshire secured a clean sweep winning all games.

Due to the cost of travel it is hard for Guernsey players to fully commit to the Hampshire programme, but just attending 50% of the games and training sessions allows our players to showcase their skills favourably to a coaching team which can help them develop as players to a higher level.

The boys will now work hard towards their next game in the Siam festival, whereupon after a short break they can look forward to some strength and conditioning work during the summer.

Both Matt and Cody should be extremely proud of their performances against Surrey as there was a lot of development from their first County game against Dorset almost a month ago.

Rachel Merrien who attended the game said they have had a great start on their County development and she felt privileged to watch the boys play.