READING SUFFER HEAVY DEFEAT TO LEAGUE RUNNERS-UP

READING were comprehensively beaten by a strong Winchester team who secured their league runners up position with this win.

Reading on the other hand remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the league and are now without a win on the road for more than a year.

Winchester took an early lead when a strong run from one of the Winchester second row aided by some ineffective Reading tackling resulted in a converted try after five minutes.

Reading then had their best spell of the match. An enterprising move saw Barker-Lopez, on debut, make good ground down the left and a series of Reading penalties gave them a line out on the Winchester five metre line from which Clarkson was held up over the line.

However, using the strong wind Winchester were soon able to get into the Reading 22 and their strong scrum was able to push the Reading scrum over the line.

Wheeler dived on the ball at the back of the scrum as it went over the line but the referee adjudged that the scrum had not finished awarded a penalty try and harshly yellow carded Wheeler.

Winchester who were already winning a plentiful supply of ball and running at the Reading defence at every opportunity scored two more converted tries in the yellow card period to take any hope of a result away from Reading and give Winchester a 28-0 lead after 25 minutes.

On the stroke of half time Reading lost a scrum and the ball was moved quickly wide by Winchester for the fifth converted try of the half to leave the half-time score at 35-0.

Reading managed to keep Winchester to a solitary unconverted try for the first half an hour of the half and had some chances of their own.

Their best chance came from a line out near the Winchester line which saw the Winchester hooker yellow carded but Reading failed to drive over and then were unable to gain possession from the subsequent line out.

In the last 10 minutes Winchester ran in two more unconverted tries against a tiring Reading defence to bring up their half century of points.

Reading’s last league game of the season is at home against local rivals Newbury on Saturday, April 6, which is also past players day. Reading RFC: Alex Dorliac (capt), James BarkerLopez, Jos Clarke, Tom David, Jason Carr; Jonny Sharp, Hayden Wheeler; Joe Clarkson, Will Proctor-Searle, Joe Dottson; Harvey Rice, Ben Eastwood; Max Pepper, Ollie Humphreys, Stu Borthwick.

Harry Wilson, Joe Pollard, Greg