READING Abbey Nuns reached the semi-finals of the National Junior Cup with a confident 35-12 win against Cullompton, writes Fiona Tomas.

Dave Swan’s side dominated the first half as they raced into an emphatic lead, commanding in all areas of the pitch.

The in-form Annette Tomas got the Nuns off to a flying start when she charged over the line after an intelligent pass from hooker Claire Stevens.

Alice Denton made the starting line-up after being rested the previous week and the centre wasted no time in getting back into the fold when she capitalised on an excellent Abbey scrum by the forwards, who worked tirelessly all game, after scrum half Ellie Rice changed the direction of play to the blindside.

Tomas then bagged another before Hayley Matthews went over after Denton raced down the wing before offloading to the wing to cross the whitewash before the break.

The second half saw Denton grab another after she combined with Abi Wall on a quick counter-attack, before a Cullompton wing and fly-half scored consolation tries for the hosts.

The one-sided score-line meant Bex Cairns and Sally Meinke made their Abbey debuts, while other peripheral players enjoyed good game time.

Denton successfully converted all of the Nuns tries to put a smile on Swan’s face as his side stretched their unbeaten run to a remarkable 18 games.

The Nuns will next face their fellow league side Newbury in the semi-final at Rose Hill on March 12.