Alton beat Winchester’s third team 47-19 to seal the league title.

After a gruelling, attritional season, the two sides were locked at the top of the table on 72 points apiece before the game, and squared off in a winner-takes-all clash for the title.

On a warm, breezy spring afternoon, Alton rose to the occasion and delivered a performance worthy of champions in front of a huge crowd of supporters.

From the first whistle, Alton flew out of the blocks. Their intensity was unmatched early on, and within five minutes, they had stormed to a two-try lead thanks to sharp finishes from Chris Roper and Tom Burgess.

A yellow card for scrum-half Greg Carter on 20 minutes couldn't halt Alton’s momentum.

Burgess crossed twice more before the break to complete his hat-trick inside 30 minutes, while Lewis New and Ollie Kavanagh had a good afternoon on the kicking tee despite tricky winds, converting all but one of Alton’s tries.

Winchester hadn’t yet woken up, but the yellow card sparked a response, as they rallied with wave after wave of sustained pressure.

Any hopes of a comeback were short-lived, however, as Alton’s defence shut the door.

Then, on the stroke of half-time, Alton captain Aidan Trethewey sliced through with a blistering break, and Carter — atoning for his time in the sin-bin — capped the move with a try to make it 33-0 at the break.

The second half was a more evenly-matched contest, as Winchester showed the class that had taken them to the top of the table.

Alton kept the scoreboard ticking, with a well-worked try finished by centre Chris Wiles, and Kavanagh adding one to his tally.

Alton took their foot off the gas, and Winchester got points on the board in the final 15 minutes, but the hosts were worthy winners.