WINCHESTER 57 – 12 GUILDFORD

The sun was out as Winchester bounced back this week to inflict a 57 – 12 drubbing on visitors Guildford. At times they were brilliant against a good, workmanlike opposition.

Eight tries scored by the team. Seven conversions and a penalty kicked by the mercurial Tommy Hare. A four-try bonus point secured by halftime; surely there must be a case for two bonus points when you repeat that in the second half.

Try number one was efficient, featuring Jacob Cully-Wilson who broke from the scrum, passed to wing Tom Forster and finished off by Tom Fieldsend, who did what all good scrum halves do and followed the man with the ball.

Forster scored the second after a long kick bounced favourably and the elusive winger touched down. At the restart Jake Hiscock fielded the ball, passing to Culley-Wilson whose forty-metre burst was completed by the predatory Fieldsend.

Guildford came back into contention and scored from a driving maul after a handling howler, Winch’s first error.  Momentum was still with Winchester as Captain Matt Golding sucked in the defence, passing to the masterly Culley-Wilson whose pace, mobility and power provided try number four.

Were Winch a little sloppy as they neared halftime? Kicks went awry, tackles were missed, and Guilford pounced as the winger scuttled over in the corner. They kept pressing but conceded a penalty and Hare knocked it through the uprights.

The second half was sensational as the backs and forwards combined with running lines that left the opposition grasping at the air. Pacy winger Rhys Thomas was the recipient of coast-to-coast handling by the team for try number five.

Guildford needed to respond and after their pedestrian first half began to exert pressure, forcing Winch to defend inside their own twenty-two. Tommy Hare clearly thought the best form of defence was attack as he audaciously intercepted the ball and stepped clear of the opposition. His run-in was unopposed.

Guildford’s contest was fierce and yet Thomas forcefully broke their line to offload to Hare who materialised on the wing. This time he had to break the tackles, which he did, to touch down under the posts.

As Guildford demonstrated their rugged determination to score, Coach Chris Searle praised Winchester’s  defence and organisation to keep them out, “The forwards won it for us!” As Winch were leading 50 – 12 at this point it was possibly debatable, but it was left to the inside centres Alex Mawdsley and Jake Hiscock, both magnificent all afternoon, to apply the final blow with an eighth try that sealed a memorable all-round performance.