STOW 18 READING 48

Their set piece was strong and caused all sorts of problems. Captain James Holmes left the field after only 5 minutes so Stow had to re-jiggle their back line. Stow scored first with a JAKE COLLET penalty but this was short lived as the slick Reading handling and ball retention carved a hole in the Stow defense for a converted try. Reading utilised their dominance and soon added another try, a line out was secured and driven over in the corner. Two more tries followed, the first from another line out and the second from a disrupted Stow scrum. Stow did not give up but were up against it in all departments but managed to pull a score back just before the break, a quick penalty was taken with the ball sent wide to JAMIE VERDEN who touched down in the corner. The second half started really well for Stow, a superb individual try from JAMES ORGAN who ran through the entire Reading pack and several defenders. However, the visitors again showed their strength and took the game out of sight with three quick tries before Stow managed to pull one back from ANDREW PIERCEY who crashed over from short range. The last play of the game saw Reading take advantage of the tired Stow defence with their last try of the game.

Stow’s commitment and effort cannot be faulted but they came up against a side who looked and played like they had spent several seasons in the leagues above.