Newbury 12-9 Winchester

A THRILLING Winchester surge at the death, pounding the Newbury try line, came up just short as the hosts hung on to win by three points in an attritional league fixture in front of a vocal matchday crowd, writes Ben Beavan. 

The visiting support did not have to wait long to celebrate the first points when the referee pinged Newbury for a high tackle. Full back Tommy Hare calmly stroked the penalty through the uprights.

Hare extended the Winchester lead to 6:0 with his second penalty soon after when Newbury were deemed to have again tackled high by the referee, with tackle height becoming a key factor in the shape of the match.

A period of sustained possession and territory took Newbury deep into the Winchester half and they were awarded a penalty with Winchester infringing at the breakdown. Newbury’s ever alert fly half Dan Thorne’s tap and go flummoxed the Winchester defence and a pop pass found Ben Davies to crash over under the posts. Thorne added the extras taking Newbury 7 - 6 ahead.

Spurred on by this setback Winchester roused themselves. Golding and Lee were juggernauts punching huge holes through the opposition midfield. When Newbury were caught offside, Hare’s third penalty took Winchester into a 9 - 7 lead.

Winchester were forced to reshuffle their midfield when injured centre Alex Mawdsley was replaced by debutante Callum Emmans. The Winchester defence continued to impress until a slipped tackle near halfway allowed Newbury to race away for their second try. With the conversion drifting wide Newbury were 12:9 ahead. Tommy Hare’s fourth penalty took the score to 12:12 at half time.

Winchester’s injury woes continued when they lost prop Ben Turner with a knee injury. With the referee reminding skippers to address the repeated infringements Winchester’s Kyle Dreyer was shown a yellow card. Thorne’s penalty attempt clattering against the uprights.

In the floodlit gloom and time running out, Newbury became tentative, caught between holding on to what they had or going for more. A converted penalty soon after took Newbury 15:12 ahead. This forced Winchester to increase momentum with one last salvo as they pounded the Newbury try line. However, it was not to be, and Newbury ran out three point winners at the final whistle.