PREVIEW – Winchester (H)
The nights prepare to draw in, the clocks go back on Sunday morning and it’s the last of the 3pm kick-offs until spring and it’s a big one to see out British Summer Time – with the visit of local rivals Winchester to Water Lane.
MATCH: Tottonians v Winchester
VENUE: Water Lane, Totton, SO40 3zX
COMPETITION: Regional Division 2 South Central
DATE: Saturday 26th October 2024
KICK-OFF: 3:00pm
ADMISSION: FREE (as always!)
LIVE MATCH UPDATES: On our Twitter/X channel @Tottonians
OVERVIEW:
There is very little that you can say about this fixture, other than it is a clash between two of the top clubs in Hampshire, both with serious title and promotion ambitions to climb out of Regional 2 South Central.
It is top against third – an unbeaten Tottonians, six wins, six bonus points and the maximum 30 points against a Winchester side with four wins from their opening six, a good points difference and an impressive defensive record – the only side not to have conceded 100 points in total – only dropping points with a narrow one-point loss at Bournemouth and a draw away at second-placed Farnham.
One thing is for certain is that it promises to be a highly competitive game, buoyed by over 60 coming for the pre-mach lunch, and plenty of interest across the board.
The feel good factor within Tottonians is palpable – all three senior sides unbeaten in their leagues, the Colts team likewise in theirs. But the challenge of Winchester for the 1st XV and away days for the 2nd XV – just a short one over the causeway at Southampton and the 3rd XV – a slightly longer one against fellow unbeaten Sandown & Shanklin 2s – will test those statistics.
Especially when you consider that Tottonians have lost just three home games out of 34 since the reboot of rugby following the enforced 2020 break – to Marlborough, to Jersey and …. to Winchester earlier this year.
What will happen this time around? Who knows but it sure will be good! Will Tottonians maintain their record or will Winchester raid Water Lane again?
Kick-off is 3pm.
TEAM NEWS:
Once more, the Tottonians selection shows a number of changes from the hard-fought victory at Wimborne last weekend.
In the backs, Dylan Kirk returns having missed the last couple of weeks and slots in a full-back as Connor Andrews switches from flanker to wing. Robbie Searle regains the number 10 shirt as Ethan Riley goes to scrum-half in place of Harry Dolbear.
The forwards have Cam Flint going back to second-row as both Scott Rogers and Rich O’Donnell return in the back row. The bench is unchanged from last Saturday.
HISTORY and STATS:
Saturday will be the 25th league meeting between the sides since the first back in April 1995 – Winchester becoming just the second side in our 1st XV league history that we have met 25 or times or more (the other being Chobham).
The head-to-head record is 14-9 to Tottonians with one draw and the points tally is 531-402 in our favour.
It actually took Totts six attempts to get off the mark against the North Walls side, waiting until March 2006 to break the duck with a 12-11 victory in London 3 South-West. Totts would then win 9 of the next 10 from 2006-2013 but, in the last six meetings, it is three wins each, Totts winning three in a row (including a walk-over at the end of the 2021/22 season) before the February match at Water Lane and that 25-18 victory for the visitors. 
