By JOSH THOMAS

Hampshire........ 30pts
Kent.....................32pts
KENT began their defence of the Bill Beaumont Cup with a thrilling victory over Hampshire.
The reigning champions, who beat Lancashire 39-37 in last year’s final, had to deal with injuries to Sam Evans (concussion), William Waddington (broken collarbone) and Rafael Dutta (knee) but did enough to open Division One South with a win.
Kent’s Director of Rugby Taff Gwilliam said: “We are delighted to win but to be fair to Hampshire they pushed us all the way, and with the injuries we sustained I&...