Farnham earned a hard-fought 14-14 draw at Winchester in Regional Two South Central.

The visitors started on the front foot and Max Williams flashed the ball over to Jonny Vincent who barrelled over for a try. Ben Stevens added the extras.

Winchester’s fly half then kicked an inch-perfect crossfield to the winger who beat Joe Brockman in the air to score a converted try.

From the kick-off Winchester fumbled the ball a few times before initiating a kick battle.

After a few strikes following a weak Farnham kick, Winchester won a lineout on the Farnham 22.

Farnham recovered the ball and West chipped the ball. Marco Azevedo caught it and carried the ball before it reached Williams, who broke up the wing.

Williams was eventually brought down, but a quick recycle handed the ball to Brown who broke through and gave the ball to Shawa Rai, who crashed over. Stevens added the extras to put Farnham 14-7 up.

The final act of the half was a knock on to Winchester following a break down the wing from Rai. The ball was given to Oscar Henderson, who made a superb break but eventually spilt the ball for a turnover.

Farnham proved to be the more tactically-astute team in the first half but unforced errors prevented them from building a stronger lead.

The second half started with 20 minutes of tough rugby with neither side on top.

Two highlights for Farnham were a solid grubber from Greg Franzell and a clearance, chase and tackle by Rai.

Following a strong defensive set Winchester managed to get down the field and a slight over-cover in the backfield allowed a Winchester runner to run through the defensive line and score a converted try.

Winchester won two kickable penalties but failed to convert both times as the match finished 14-14.

By Mike Salmon