County Shield Pool Three

OXFORDSHIRE 29 DORSET & WILTS 26

DORSET & WILTS suffered their second defeat of the RFU County Shield campaign as Oxfordshire stole the show to deny them in the last minute, in a nip and tuck encounter at Witney.

Going into the final moments of the contest, the Twin Counties led 26-24, however, one last effort from the hosts robbed the Dorset & Wilts youngsters of the victory they just about deserved.

Twin Counties’ president John Palmer said: “We travelled in hope rather than anticipation following our 37-18 defeat at home against Berkshire last time out.

“When Oxfordshire beat Berk-shire last week the form was very much against us, but all credit to our lads, they led by 12 points to seven at the break and were very much in the ascendency.

“Our defence has improved by 200 per cent since the Berkshire game, we tackled hard and fair, we were up against a very big strong outfit whose nucleus of nine players from Grove Rugby Club gelled from the kick off.

“Considering the age of most of our players, the experience they have gained from this campaign should see them in good stead for future championships.”