Reeds Down Winchester, to make it 3 wins from 3

REEDS WEYBRIDGE 29 WINCHESTER 3

This was the first visit of Winchester RFC, who seem to be going through a re-building process with their side, to Whiteley Village and like most town sides they arrived with some big forwards that had Reeds in trouble during the first quarter. The big Winchester men had a series of rolling mauls and rucks that nearly brought points. Reeds kept their line secure but conceded a string of penalties that really should have given Winchester a double-digit lead. They were successful with just the one kick however, and their attempts to chip to the corner flag and a drive from the lineout were consistently out-done by Reeds line out defence, led by Herbie Finn and Joe Wastie, which stole their ball on numerous occasions. The driving rain and wind limited the opportunities for Reeds running game but the unexpected attacks from within Reeds’ territory initiated by scrum half Ollie Palmer together with the awareness of fly half Pete Davidge began to open up gaps in the Winchester defence. It was winger Joe Moriarty who was the instigator of the first try, he collected the pin-point pass deep in his own half and set off on a defence busting run, two defenders were bulldozed aside creating a huge gap in the midfield, possession was fired out accurately to Dan Veale the winger, he made ground and neatly found No 8 Alex Corner up in support who strode in under the sticks. It was a crucial score just before the change round and whilst only a four-point lead Reeds now had the slope and the wind in their favour in the second half.

Early in the second half, Reeds were beginning to take charge of the tight scrums and the lineouts as well, the pressure from all parts of the pitch was relentless. New debutant Charlie Stonehill made his presence felt around the park and was part of an immense forwards performance that saw them take control of all facets of the game. Up front, George Corner the hooker was causing all sorts of problems, he ticks every box and was awarded the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance. 

As the Winchester defence came under strain, they conceded penalties and that gave Reeds’ opportunities for their quick men, Tom McLean the winger extended the lead to give Reeds a nine-point lead, it wasn’t decisive but with the visitors starved of possession a comeback didn’t look likely, more so when Pete Davidge slotted an easy penalty. Midway through that second half it was clear, that barring a major upset, Reeds were going to win the game and the attention was focused on collecting a bonus point for four tries. 

The third try came from an attack deep in Winchester territory, the defence had the runners covered but Pete Davidge chipped the ball through for winger Joe Moriarty to run onto and collect the ball at pace and touch down for a converted try. Reeds had to wait until the last minute to collect the fourth, it came from possession well within Reeds’ half, nothing seemed on, but young flanker Joe Wastie set off on down the blind side, he was checked and fed the ball inside and was on hand to collect the final pass for a richly deserved four try bonus point, just in time for the final whistle.

Once again, thanks to our sponsors for their support.

GS October 3rd