Rugby: Dorchester Thirds seal league title with bonus-point triumph

DORCHESTER Thirds clinched the Dorset & Wilts Four title by the slenderest of margins with a bonus-point victory over Weymouth & Portland.

The match started with the Gladiators conceding several penalties, one of which the visitors kicked to take the lead.

Finally a penalty went Dorchester’s way and the kick to touch set up a good position to attack from.

The hosts retained possession from the lineout and kept the ball alive before an overlap was created which gave Steve Tucker the chance to touch down – and this was followed soon after by a try for Chris Backhouse.

The visitors retaliated by embarrassing the hosts with a 20-metre rolling maul and another penalty.

The match was looking fairly even at this stage, with the Dorchester lineout functioning well and the Weymouth pack showing their strength.

But it was Dorchester that scored next when Dan Allen pounced on a loose ball in Weymouth’s in-goal area following an extremely wayward clearance kick.

Tom Gower then broke through from midfield with no defenders in front of him gained the much-needed bonus point to allow the Gladiators to win the league, provided they held on to their lead.

Weymouth & Portland nearly replied with a try of their own but Max Simpson was on hand to catch the final runner.

And home nerves were eased when John Bowden went over a few minutes later following a turnover in midfield.

With a 25-6 interval lead, Dorchester brought on their extensive bench in the second half.

However, the second period started with a long scoreless spell as both defences buckled down to keep their opponents at bay.

About 20 minutes in Gower found a gap in the visitors’ defence for his second try, before followed that up with a third in the corner.

Man of the match Gower wasn’t finished and he duly scored his fourth try of the afternoon to cap a superb individual performance.

Alex Skidmore had little success with the boot all afternoon but converted the last try to round off an emphatic 42-6 win for captain Nick Hodge's charges.