Desperate last-gasp try foils plucky Winchester.

Tottonians 18, Winchester 15.

Winchester came within moments of being only the second league team this season to lower Tottonians' flag at fortress Water Lane last Saturday.

Instead, a late try deep into injury time inflicted on them the same kind of misery they inflicted on Tottonians in the corresponding fixture at Nuns Road back in darkest December.

Nevertheless, Winchester deserve full credit for the magnificent way they turned the present game around, following a wind-blown first half that saw them 11-3 in arrears.

During the second period the visitors showed how truly classy they can be when the pack is at its rampaging best. Tries were scored by the outstanding duo of Tom Bolland and Tom Pervin - Andy Ashwin converting the first try and chipping in with a first half penalty.

Contrast that with the earlier play when the Winchester defence gave away the softest of tries to winger Simon Hordell, after a chip to the left corner.

With only ten minutes gone it seemed the visitors were in for a difficult afternoon, until the pack was able to assert its vast superiority.

But Andy Ashwin reduced the arrears, only for Robbie Searle to reply in kind. And when a waveringly desperate Bryn Marshall drop goal reached the target a Tottonians romp was on the cards.

Yet as the wind began to swirl about after the break, the Winchester tom-toms began to beat out a rhythm to which their pack danced gleefully, penning the scrambling hosts in their own half for most of the time.

Tom Pervin was quite exceptional. His lineout work was superb and his fiery play in the loose was a perfect compliment to that of back row colleagues, Jamie Kirkaldy and George Daniels. 11-3 soon became 11-8 as the other Tom, Tom Bolland, found his way through to the line. Ashwin's conversion set the Tottonians' balcony's nerves on edge. Justifiably so.

The Winchester supporters below had seen it all before from their team: the good, the bad and the downright ugly. When Pervin added another score with less than ten minutes of normal time left, pay off time loomed.

The visitors had all the momentum and were playing with the kind of poise and vivacity that might yet take the club far in seasons to come. But three good try scoring chances went a-begging as pay off time turned into pay back time with Tom Pearson's winner for Tottonians at the death. Searle's conversion heralded the final whistle and Winchester were sunk.

For the neutral, the game had provided an excellent afternoon's entertainment, to which both sides fully contributed. The Winchester players, who are their own fiercest critics, know they should have won. In the end they let the fish off the hook and paid the price. The team must now gather itself for the final league game of the season at home to promoted league champions, Chobham. It is a game Winchester need to win to ensure they finish where they are now - fourth in the league. No pressure then!

In truth, Winchester can be an enigma. But the prize for cracking the code is well worth having. When they put it all together they can be formidable. Next season isn't that far away.

Team: Brown (Davis 70), West, Bingham, Goldsmith, Farrington, Rogers, Ashwin, Bolland, Hancock, Webster (Sullivan 80), Hayes, Ettinger, Pervin, Kirkaldy, Daniels.

l The 2nd XV lost 62-0 away to Andover in a Senior Merit Table play-off encounter last Saturday. All teams now take an Easter break, which is Winchester Sevens weekend, before the 1st XV make their final bow of the league season at home to Chobham on April 14 (kick-off 3pm).