Winchester 3s 29 v Alresford 1s 5
12th October 2024
Alresford travelled to Winchester on a crisp, unseasonably warm October afternoon for our third match of the season, with our squad keen to test their mettle against one of the bigger teams in our league.
Alresford kicked off the first half, and it became clear early on, that this was to be a mighty effort from our forwards, with the ball being kept narrow, not allowing Winchester to get into any sort of attacking rhythm. Despite the home team asking serious questions of our defensive capabilities, it remained an entertaining, yet brutally physical scoreless game until just before half time, when our try line was finally breached. With a missed conversion, this made the score at the half;
Winchester 3’s 5 – Alresford 0.
The home team kicked off the second half keen to try and assert themselves against the stubborn defence wall of the Alresford team, who defended as one for the entire game.
And it was Winchester who were first on the board after the break, with a converted try, making the score 12-0. A third, uncoverted try followed soon after – 17-0. As the away teams manful defensive wall started to wilt under the immense pressure and tiredness started to set in, a fourth try was scored and converted – 24-0.
However, as we are showing throughout this season, this is not an Alresford team that will lie down, and our attacking intent was rewarded with our first try of the afternoon – although unconverted, the score was now 24-5.
Sadly, it was the home team who had the last word in the proceedings with their final, uncoverted try of the afternoon.
This made the final score;
Winchester 3’s 29 – Alresford 5.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the scoreline in no way represents the overall performance of the team this afternoon. We put an astonishing defensive shift in, our line out was smooth, the pack were immense, and some calmness in the opposition 22 could have resulted in more tries than the one we scored.
It should be noted that our fitness in the last 20 minutes could be worked on, and our hope is that with more players at training, this is an area that we can improve on and build on this superb performance.
Our thanks to Winchester for a match played in the right spirit, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Arlebury later in the season.
Our next game is away to Bognor on 19th October and we look forward to seeing you then.