Dogged Winchester prevail in Anstey Park mud-bath.

A try at the beginning of each half proved to be enough as Winchester edged out Alton in an entertaining encounter amid filthy conditions at Anstey Park.

Hail, heavy rain and a deteriorating pitch made ball-retention next to impossible and by the end the game resembled drunken basketball played in a swamp. And as Alton found to their cost, chasing a game in a mud-bath is no easy feat.

It was a decent match. Two well-matched sides, bags of honest endeavour and the odd flash of real quality combined to create an absorbing, if chaotic, game.

Winchester prevailed because they got their noses in front and stubbornly refused to let Alton back into it. They played the conditions well, took their chances and scrambled effectively in defence.

Skipper Campbell Ettinger was the heartbeat of the Winchester side, a work-horse and leader of a pack that grafted for every yard. Flanker Will Self also competed tenaciously while the raking left boot of full-back Jack Parsons, an England U18 trialist, regularly kept Alton at bay.

Alton showed a huge improvement on the previous two games  - all the more impressive given they were missing a handful of key players and had to reshuffle what they had following a couple of late withdrawals. They played with more passion, physicality and brain, although their finishing and decision-making were occasionally wayward.

They also butchered a couple of try-scoring opportunities and on another day might have had a share of the spoils or better. They didn't but the losing bonus point was a reasonable reward given results elsewhere.

Will Ford rampaged with great purpose but it was blind-side flanker James Oxley who was the stand-out, foraging aggressively at the breakdowns and covering acres of Anstey Park swamp. There were no real weak links for Alton and but for lapses of concentration at the start of each half, they might have bagged a result here.

And referee Stuart Scott deserves huge credit for managing an almost unmanageable game - he hardly put a foot wrong.

Winchester opened the try-scoring after less than three minutes and it was a score Alton should not have allowed to happen. Had they left the ball from Parsons' kick-off, they would have been awarded the scrum because the ball didn't go the required ten metres. Instead, Alton played it, coughed up possession and eventually the Winchester pack rolled over from a driving maul from ten metres out, prop Danny Waite claiming the try.

Neither side was afraid to play the wide game despite the conditions and the first half ebbed and flowed pleasingly. Alton went close when Bruce Oliphant lost the ball over the line and Shane Watts had a try disallowed for a double movement.

Winchester might have extended their lead when they again threatened the Alton line with their rolling maul - their most effective weapon - but some heroic defensive work from Steve Osborne and Oxley twice denied them.

However, the visitors doubled their lead immediately after the break and mud or no mud, it was a beauty. They claimed the restart, made a couple of punching drives before freeing left wing Matt Burt, who stepped inside Alton full-back Dan Forsyth and outgassed the cover.

Alton halved the deficit minutes later with an excellent try of their own and a model of how to employ wet-weather tactics. A punishing series of pick-and-gos took them a full 50 metres downfield and from an ensuing five-metre scrum, Ford squeezed over.

That was the last of the scoring as the game became increasingly staccato, with Alton increasingly forced to try their luck from deep. Watts came closest to tying up the scores when he charged clear from the base of the ruck, only to lose the increasingly slippery ball in the tackle. That would prove to be the closest they would come as Winchester closed out a well-earned win.

Alton: Forsyth (c); O'Connor, Salmon, Watts, Law; Crowther, Arundel; Happel, Parratt, Ovens (Richards, 52); Osborne, Oliphant; Oxley, Carter, Ford.

Try: Ford (49).

Winchester: Parsons; Farrinton, Woods, Duncan, Burt; Rogers, Adkins (Prestidge); Waite, McGregor, Webster (Rice); Grant, Ettinger (c); Self, Adamson, McGregor.  

Tries: Waite (3), Burt (42).
 
H-T: 0-5.

Referee: Stuart Scott (Hampshire Society).

* Teddington have all but clinched the London 3SW title after a thumping 39-11 victory at second-placed Camberley. This was the south Londoners' 53rd consecutive win and, barring major mishaps, they will take their place in London 2 South next year, while Camberley are all but assured of a play-off place.