Winchester Rugby Club’s first team travelled to Eastleigh on Saturday for their last league match of the season, and returned the 13-try victors by 78 to nil, consolidating their position at second to the unbeaten Jersey in the RFU’s Southern Counties Hampshire league, writes Tim Fell.

The first score came after 10 minutes as 17-year-old winger Ed Holmes sprinted 60 metres to go over in the corner, run round and touch down under the posts, making full-back Josh Tolan’s conversion a formality. 7-0 to Winchester.

Three minutes later, Tom Forster on the right wing touched down in the corner, and Tolan’s conversion attempt bounced off the right post and onto the crossbar and back onto the pitch. 12-0 to Winchester.

Another try in the same corner scored by inside centre Greg Sullivan followed, and the fourth try and the bonus point came as the visiting forwards mauled over the line, flanker Jack Coles touched down, and Tolan’s conversion brought the score to 24-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Eastleigh conceded a penalty, Tolan kicked to the corner, and from the lineout the visiting forwards mauled over the line for a touchdown by second-row Saul Morgan. Tolan’s conversion made it 24-0.

An almost identical sequence of 5-metre lineout catch and maul led to a try for hooker Matt Bailey. 31-0.

Not satisfied with two catch-maul-tries, Winchester did it a third time with flanker Alex Wood touching down, and the score moved to 38-0.

As half-time approached, Holmes scored his second try, Tolan converted and the teams went into their half-time huddles with Winchester 43-0 in the lead.

With 15 minutes of the second half played, Forster had scored again and Winchester No 8 and captain Matt Golding had surged over after picking up at the back of a scrum on the Eastleigh 5-metre line. With Tolan’s successful conversions, the score had moved to 57-0.

Both teams were bringing their substitutes on, and Winchester’s back-line reorganised itself with scrum-half Connor Breen moving to full-back, Tolan to fly-half and Tom Fieldsend to scrum-half. Second-row Ben Turner moved up to tight-head prop Jim Beavan, shown yellow by referee Crossley, and Golding moved up to the second row of a seven-man scrum.

Other teams at higher levels might have found these changes upset their rhythm, but not Winchester. Tries followed for Breen and substitute Miles Sampson. With conversions by Adamson and Tolan, the score stood at 78-0, and referee Crossley blew up for no side.

“It’s our first team that gets the headlines, but our seconds and thirds/vets are due to be promoted too”, said Winchester coach Gaz Martin after the team and supporters returned to their home clubhouse to celebrate and watch the Ireland-England game.

“Eastleigh are by no means a poor team, but they’ve been hit hard by injuries. They tested our defence, and as I’m proud of what we did in defence as much as in attack this afternoon, especially when we were down to 14 and even 13 men. And to see our youngsters Ed and Miles in the scoring was a joy.”