NORTH DORSET II 3

DORCHESTER 22

A RUSTY looking Dorchester finally overcame battling hosts North Dorset, who never gave an inch in Dorset & Wilts One South.

Playing down the slope and with the benefit of the stiff breeze, the hosts dominated the opening exchanges, keeping Dorchester pinned in their own 22.

Dorchester were penalised for not releasing in front of their own posts. The hosts accepted the offer of easy points and kicked the penalty to go into an early lead.

The visitors gradually worked their way into the game but it was into the second quarter of the game before they finally opened their account.

Dorchester’s James Newsam made the initial break before handing on to Dave Clark, who crossed to the left of the posts. James Baker, who struggled with the windy conditions all day, was unable to add the extras.

Dorchester were now getting the better of their opponents but North Dorset continued to make things very difficult, defending the gain line manfully.

The county town side then added a second try before the break, Steve Tucker and Clark combining to send full-back Matt Read over in the right-hand corner.

The hosts now had the conditions in their favour but the hosts refused to lie down and the visitors were made to work hard for every yard of territory.

Following a prolonged period of pressure on the home line and with a North Dorset player in the bin, Baker finally forced his way through to cross under the posts.

With the match effectively won, the only question was whether or not Dorchester could earn a bonus point by scoring a fourth try.

The answer came when Lee King went galloping through midfield before offloading to Steve Tucker to beat the last two defenders and touch down.

Dorchester’s man of the match was tight-head prop David Cottell. His front-row performance, also including several turnovers at the breakdown, was outstanding.

County town coaches Ben Parker and Rich Bament said: “Saturday’s performance wasn’t our best but we got the job done and brought home the needed five points to move to fourth in the league.

“The very windy conditions combined with deceptively boggy conditions underfoot meant we had to adapt our style of play to accommodate. Despite all this, the whole team pulled together and dealt with the issues.

“The scrum dominated the game for us and all the hard work put in during training showed.

“The backs, who had to struggle with the conditions, kept their composure and despite some silly errors kept us in the game.

“We are now at home for two games and we must continue to build on recent form.”

With Dorchester now fourth in the league, the target of third spot has been set by the coaching team.

Dorchester: T Evans, J Underhill, Cottell, Makepeace, L King, Hallett, Newsam, Tucker, Clark, Foot, Dale, Baker, Deakin, Boyd-Paton, Read, Fox, Bosher, Robson