WINCHESTER Rugby Club has been preparing for the new season with a trio of games.

Since all three of its men’s teams gained promotion at the end of last season, the club has gained 35 new senior players, and will now be fielding three senior men’s teams and their veterans’ team, the Winchester Knights.

They kick off their season by playing Wimborne at home this Saturday, write Ben Beavan and Tim Fell.

After two months of twice-weekly fitness training in the gym of the Army Training Regiment in Andover Road, followed by three weeks of tactical training at North Walls Park, on August 18 Winchester took 35 players for a Friday-night friendly match at Havant, playing 3 x 30 minutes with rolling substitutions on the floodlit artificial surface, unfortunately including a potentially season-ending ankle injury to fly-half Rhodri Adamson.

Havant won the match 33-0, but the consensus among Winchester’s supporters was that it had been a valuable challenge for the players, and that lessons had been learned, mainly about giving away too many penalties – 14 to Havant’s five – and winning ball at the lineout.

The following afternoon another Winchester selection played at home against Gillingham Anchorians in the inaugural fixture of the Mark Humphrys Memorial Cup. Mark played for Winchester Colts before moving to Kent where he played for Anchorians. Sadly, he passed away last year.

The game, in which Gillingham was skippered by the Winchester captain Matt Golding’s brother Tom, was played in front of an excellent pre-season crowd with both teams playing open running rugby. Winchester impressed with their expansive off-loading game, creating numerous line breaks, and took a 14-0 lead at half time.

The hosts added a further try in the second half before Anchorians crossed for a deserved try to bring the contest to an end with the score 19-7. Winchester will travel to Kent for the return fixture next August.

A week later, another 35-strong squad travelled to Windsor, whose first team played one league higher than them in the RFU’s Thames division until being relegated at the end of last season. On a pitch overshadowed by Windsor Castle, they ran in no fewer than seven tries, and Windsor had no answer to their sweeping passing and offloading play.

Winchester won 0-45, with two tries each for full-back Josh Tolan and winger Tom Banks, one for fly-half Alex Mawdsley, who has moved to Winchester after playing for the Sutton and Epsom club in Surrey, and one each for flanker George Porter, No 8 Matt Golding, and winger Tom Banks.