On a wet and sticky pitch, Reading dominated the early encounters, and in particular the first two scrums which were taken against the head. This dominance put Bracknell on the back foot from the outset and Reading turned this pressure in to points - from a centre field scrum, attacking right from the base two simple passes put the Reading winger in for the first converted score after six minutes.

The visitors’ dominance of the close encounters continued, and the Stags discipline and patience was tested. This resulted in man-of-the-match David being sinbinned for a ‘team yellow’, and Reading again made the most of their dominance with an unconverted try to lead 12-0 after 24 minutes.

Having been knocked out of their stride, the Stags slowly began to put some phases together, and this pressure resulted in a sniping run from scrum half Barry Dwyer who crossed the line on the right, converted by Ben Nowak.

However, the Stags inconsistency returned and Reading crossed the line once again for a 19-7 half-time lead.

The hosts hit their straps almost immediately in the second half and built some strong phases of play, culminating with substitute Simon Bayliss racing in to the right hand corner. Nowak again converted to cut the gap to just five points.

The Stags pressure was building and they began to suffocate the opposition by dominating territory and possession.

Reading were reduced to 14 men for continual infringements, giving Bracknellfurther reason to be optimistic as their form returned.

Richard Brember finished off another multi-phase passage of play by sprinting in on the left, levelling the scores at 19-19 before Nowak continued his form with the boot, converting from wide out to give Bracknell the lead for the first time on 56 minutes.

It was now clear that the hosts’ greater fitness levels were starting to prove decisive and on 68 minutes, Chris Brember emulated his brother’s efforts on the right. Nowak converted again to stretch the lead to 28-19.

Regular changes had been made by the hosts and the strength of the Bracknell bench began to shine.

The Stags continuity in worsening conditions was impressive, and so was the deft chip ahead, by Ben Radford who collected his own kick on the bounce to score his first senior try at Lily Hill Park in the 73rd minute.

With the game safely secured for Bracknell, Jasper Miranda completed the perfect second half display from the hosts with a barnstorming run to crash over before Ben Radford converted to seal a 40-19 win.