Winchester's dream of an instant return to London Two South is all but over as they were woefully poor in losing to an average Effingham & Leatherhead at Nuns Road. The defeat leaves them six points off the pace.
Promising moves faltered in their infancy against the second-placed Surrey outfit.
Still in the game at the interval at 7-3 down, courtesy of Dan Kinsey's 17th-minute penalty, a second Eagles try on the hour put the game beyond doubt although Adi Mort grabbed a consolation two minutes from time.
Such was the abject nature of the Winchester performance that replacement scrum-half Ian Miller, who was only on the field for 25 minutes, was ranked man-of-the-match.
But it was a dire show and coach Barry Bridgman said little after the game.
"I am not amused," covered his anger and disappointment.
Tottonians climbed back above Winchester into fourth place thanks to a convincing 30-7 win at a boggy Alton, which keeps the mid-Hampshire side deep in relegation trouble.
Considering all the changes Totts were forced to make, it was a particularly decent performance as they ran in five tries on the sticky pitch, all through the backs, although Clive Wilkes at number eight had a big game on his return to the side.
Mike Dibden, Ange Mariani, Mike Searle, Collin Mortimer and Richard Buck all got themselves on the scoresheet as skipper Paul Goodall beamed with pride after the previous two poor performances.
"We could have crumbled after the last couple of games," he said, "but we didn't and actually played similarly to the way we did when we were on our good run earlier in the season and it made a big difference to us."
Jersey are all but mathematically promoted after their incredible 75-32 win over London Irish Amateur. They will join the ranks of London Two South next season for the first time in their history.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article