WEYMOUTH College put together a Rugby development side and overcame Bournemouth & Poole College 24-14 in a small-sided game.

The encounter, supported by Weymouth Rugby Club, took place at Monmouth Avenue and saw a range of competitors on each side, from beginners to players that have represented the South West.

The afternoon started with a joint training session delivered by Des Quick and Barry Ross-Mackenzie with the main focus being on safe contact skills to ensure all the new players understood how to position and use their bodies in the contact areas.

Following a short break, the colleges then lined up against each other for an eagerly-awaited match, which saw both sides instantly gel.

Some of the passages of play were fantastic and although Weymouth eventually took the spoils, the big success on the day was seeing so many new and previous players back on the field of play.

Ben Heath, sports development officer at Weymouth College, said: “This was an excellent afternoon of rugby for everyone involved, with new and old players both taking part, which was fantastic.

“We are very keen to continue to develop rugby for the college students in partnership with Weymouth RFC and we’ll be working hard to keep all these players involved to start the new season in September.”

There will be another chance for these rugby-hungry students to get a run-out after Easter with a return match, which will once again be staged at Weymouth RFC.