READING Abbey kept their South West One East survival hopes alive with another dramatic comeback which ended in a thrilling 32-24 victory at Grove on Saturday.

Things started badly for the visitors as Grove took a seventh-minute lead, Mike Martin landing a penalty following a high tackle, and then added a converted opening try through centre Guy Nicholl.

Abbey hit back at the end of the opening quarter, Luke Daniels crossing before Olly Walton added the extras to cut the gap to 10-7.

And the away side were level before the break as Walton struck a 35-metre penalty with the last play of the opening 40 minutes.

Yet things went wrong during the third quarter for the second consecutive week as Grove No. 8 Ben Law crashed over following a series of drives and centre Sam Telling also dotted down, Martin converting both efforts to put the home side 24-10 to the good.

However, as they had done against Chippenham the week before, Abbey responded with a dramatic rearguard to snatch the victory. Again it was the irrepresible No. 8 Will Woodward who inspired his side, the forward carrying 70 metres before finding Gavin Dampies (pictured above) who was the victim of a high tackle by Martin.

With the Grove man sin-binned, Abbey took a tap penalty, and after Tom Huggins cut through, he released Omar Ellaboudy to sprint in from 25 metres. Ben Mitchell missed the kick, but the Berkshire men had hope.

As injury time approached, Abbey cut the gap to two points with a remarkable try. Woodward and Theo Evered handled well near their own line, and Dampies received the ball with the Grove line 80 metres away. He was the only player on the field capable of scoring from this situation, and his magnificent run took him clear for a memorable score, after which he improved matters still further by landing a good conversion from wide on the left.

Trailing 24-22, Abbey continued to run the ball from everywhere, and they got their rewards with a bonus-point try. Huggins and Dampies combined to find Arron Ross, and he dived over in the corner for an unconverted score.

With the hosts stunned, Abbey completed their sensational efforts with a fifth try, again from Dampies who scythed through to add gloss to a stunning finish.

The result leaves Abbey 12th in the table after their five-point penalty for fielding an ineligible player earlier in the season was confirmed.

Fungai Mutepfa’s men host leaders Maidenhead this coming Saturday (3pm).

  • FOURTH-PLACED Berkshire Shire Hall edged to a 19-18 victory at Harwell in the BB&O Championship.

They host unbeaten leaders Littlemore on Saturday.