| Reading racked up thirteen tries as they recorded their biggest league
win ever to move out of the bottom three in South West Division One for the first
time since October. Defeats for Coney Hill and Maidenhead – the latter by a big margin
against Bracknell – pushed them into the relegation places instead. Club chairman
Alastair McHarg knows there is still much to do with four difficult games to go.
“We have to play top side Bracknell, fourth placed Cleve and sixth-placed Oxford
Harlequins as well as a crunch match against Maidenhead. We have to make sure we
don’t slip up against any of them but I am very hopeful we can survive”, he said.
He was also delighted at the debut, as a substitute, of 18-year-old prop Matt
Weller, just the second player to have come through the club’s junior ranks
since the year 2000. |
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| Leading the try-fest on Saturday was winger Alex Blackstock, whose
elusive running brought him five tries. Just behind him was the powerful centre
Peceli Navamavuto, fast becoming a legend at Holme Park, whose strength and pace
brought him four tries as well as setting up others. Number 8 Ledua Jope added
two more while the other Fijian, Taniela Ratu scored his first try for the club.
Club captain Simon Dyson added the other try after a blind-side break from a five metre scrum. |
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| Reading had the game won by the 17th minute, by which time they had scored four tries and led
24-0. It was the kind of day where all the moves practised in training worked to perfection and Blackstock’s
first try, in the third minute, came from a well rehearsed move. Wallace converted but found the wind too strong
when trying to convert Nacamavuto’s first try from wide out. |
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| Scores continued with Jope going over, Dyson touching down in the corner and Blackstock supporting a long run by Nacamavuto for his second try. Wallace’s conversion made the score 31-0. |
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| Ten minutes later St Ives prop Craig Stevens was yellow carded and within a minute Ratu went over after the subsequent five metre scrum. Then, just before half time, with the visitors pressing, Reading won a scrum on their own five metre line, Jope picked up and combined with fellow Fijian Nacamavuto to send the centre on an 80 yard run for a try. Wallace’s conversion gave Reading a 43-0 half time lead, with their eyes firmly on the target of improving their points difference.
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| Eight minutes into the second period Blackstock took an inside pass to touch down under the posts, Wallace converting to bring up the fifty points, and then Jope scored his second try, from a five metre scrum. Blackstock’s 64th minute try brought up the 60 points before the visitors’ Number 8, Dean Rainey, dived over in the corner for the consolation try his team’s efforts deserved.
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| Reading’s reply was to score another three tries in the last five minutes. The first, Blackstock’s fifth, required him to scoop the ball off the ground after some quick but sloppy passing, the second, from Nacamavuto, followed a tap penalty and the same player was up in support of a fine break by skipper Alex Wallace to score his fourth. Wallace converted two of these tries to complete a good day for his team. |
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| Reading: Alex Wallace; Alex Blackstock, Peceli Nacavamuto, Andrew Evans, Taniela Ratu (Andrew Tweedie, 72 mins); Billy Bragg, Simon Dyson (Tom Goodhew, 56 mins): Ricky Reeves (Matt Weller, 48 mins), Paul Fisher, Andrew Grierson, Ben Hughes, Sean Kenneally, Matt Davies, Dan Phillips, Ledua Jope.
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| Match facts: 3 mins Blackstock try, Wallace con (7-0), 5 mins Nacamavuto try (12-0), 12 mins Jope try, Wallace con (19-0), 17 mins Dyson try (24-0), 22 mins Blackstock try, Wallace con (31-0), 33 mins Taniela Ratu try (36-0), 40 mins Nacamavuto try, Wallace con (43-0), 48 mins Blackstock try, Wallace con ((50-0), 54 mins Jope try (55-0), 64 mins Blackstock try (60-0), 72 mins Laughton try (60-5), 76 mins Blackstock try (65-5), 79 mins Nacamavuto try, Wallace con (72-5), 80 mins Nacamavuto try, Wallace con (79-5). |
| Tries: Alex Blackstock (5), Peveli Nacamavuto (4), ledua Jope (2), Simon Dyson, Taniela Ratu. |
| Cons: Alex Wallace (7) |
| Ted Goodhew |