BASINGSTOKE RFC suffered a 64-0 loss in their South West Two Hampshire derby game to visiting Winchester last Saturday.

Paul Hollingshead, who technically retired back in September, came back for the derby game to help Stoke with their current front row injury crisis.

Stoke captain Rob Northcote said: “There were a couple of positives despite the score line. Our defence has improved and it’s something that’s regularly worked on at training and when we did manage to string phases together we had opportunities to get on the score sheet.

“Unfortunately for us and everyone supporting the final pass, set piece or attack move was not clinical enough and we turned the ball over.

“Winchester aren’t a bad side, they’ve got a good coach, good core skills and they seem like a tight team but it still hurts losing to local teams.

Northcote added: “We’ve got some great young players coming through the ranks like Glen Serafica, Jamie Kelleway and Will Joyce.

“Add to that some of the more senior younger guys like Adam McDonald, Guy Pope, Charlie Eaves and Tom price you start to create a core from which to build from.”

Stoke now have a week off, before they have a very tough game away at leaders Cobham, who have lost just once this season.