Winscombe were caught out by the slickest back division they have met this season.

Stothert & Pitt 34 pts

Winscombe 22 pts

THE Winscombe pack were greatly improved from last week and gave a performance that should have been enough to win this game, but an inexperienced threequarter line came up against the slickest back division they have met this season.

The kick-off was well caught by Ollie Jones and the forwards drove on to allow James Flower to make some ground. Simon Thompson drove again from the ruck and Owen Howell carried on the movement, but a promising position was lost when a home player got away with turning the ball over illegally.

With sharp passing and excellent support Stothert had suddenly gone from one 22 to the other, a pattern repeated throughout the game.

Winscombe were forced to concede a line-out five metres out and Stothert drove over for a converted try from the maul after 10 minutes.

Jones and Dan Fryer were prominent at the breakdown and they were rewarded with a push-over try scored by Jones. The kick-off was dropped, but Jones managed to tidy up and Howell had to hurriedly kick clear to halfway. The chase and the tackling were not good enough and Stothert replied within two minutes with a try in the corner.

Another Stothert counter-attack resulted in a penalty in front of the posts and the lead was stretched to 15-5. Winscombe hit back immediately after good work by Greg Brown, Louis Hooper and Fryer. Thompson arrived at pace to burst through tackles to run in for an excellent try in the corner, converted by Howell.

After the break, another mistake from a Stothert kick saw them score a try, only three minutes into the half. Again the Winscombe forwards responded well and Fryer drove on to win a penalty.

The kick hit an upright, but Flower’s determined chase put the home side under pressure and after some good play, Adam Scrase charged down a clearance for a try. Stothert soon hit back for a bonus point try.

After putting the Stothert tryline under pressure, a pass was intercepted and a length of the field try put the home side out of reach at 34-17. The riposte was immediate when Fryer won a turnover following the restart and good passing on the short side sent Lucas Humphrey off on a long run to score in the corner for a bonus point.