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By Graham Cox Kent passed the first test of their County Championship Bill Beaumont Division 1 title defence with a 32-30 win away at Hampshire. The reigning champions had led the contest from the ninth minute through player-coach Tom Stradwick (Blackheath), but had to hang on against tenacious opponents who would not let them pull clear, and whose 77th-minute try put them within two points for a nervy finish. Injuries to key Kent personnel in both halves proved another challenge, with Tonbridge Juddians’ Ollie Claxton, on the bench as a replacement centre-half and with next-to-no rugby this s…

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