There are several things you can guarantee in a Winchester v Andover game. There will be niggle. The game will be tight. Andover will have a strong scrum and Winchester will have the edge out wide. Some of these things were true, but after a good win last week at Guildford, newly promoted Andover found out that life is tougher in Regional 2 South Central.

A strong start from the home team in front of a bumper crowd saw Winchester dominate field position and territory for no reward. Against the run of play, Andover pushed Winchester off their own ball at a scrum and a smartly taken penalty by scrum-half Ioan Gwynne-Davies saw the visitors score the first try. That was as good as it got for the so-called Hampshire All Blacks.

It was hard to tell if Winchester were brilliant or Andover were poor, but the game quickly turned into a procession. New flanker Will Larkin, adding some welcome mongrel to Winchester's pack, scored from a lineout catch and drive. From the resultant kick-off, second row and captain Matt Golding, who has clearly enjoyed his summer, made a slow-motion break through most of the opposition’s defence before scrum-half Tom Fieldsend kicked through for left-wing Rhys Thomas, who touched down for the first of his 3 tries.

Centre Jake Hiscock, looking sharp for an old man, elected not to pass to full-back Tom Forster and was hauled down short of the line. But quick tries soon followed and hooker Jimmy Wallis secured the bonus point on 30 minutes. There was still time for Thomas to score his second before halftime for a 35-5 lead.

Andover started the second half brightly, but it didn't last. Flanker Tom Coles scored, as did No. 8 Jacob Culley-Wilson; Larkin scored again and Thomas crossed for his third.

Winchester's pack, with new props Josh Pallet and Tom Cleave to the fore, dominated the opposition’s large forwards. This dominance turned the last 20 minutes into the Jake Hiscock show: the centre who crossed for two tries before Forster, forgiving him for ignoring him earlier, teed him up for his hat-trick.

The 78-5 final score sees Winchester two wins from two. This Saturday they are away to Farnham, who have also made a strong start to the season, in what will be a tough challenge.