NORTH DORSET 31 DORCHESTER 10

WHAT appears to be a heavy defeat for Dorchester was, in fact, much closer than the scoreline suggests.

North Dorset are renowned for starting quickly and they did just that in this Southern Counties South fixture.

It wasn’t long before they took the lead when a penalty was kicked to the corner and a well-rehearsed catch and drive move resulted in the opening try.

Unusually for Dorchester, they were under pressure in the scrum and so struggled for good ball.

But they slowly began to get a foothold in the game and James Baker kicked a penalty to narrow the gap.

Baker could have put the visitors in front with a second attempt but his effort missed the target.

The hosts were also having problems putting any phases together as Dorchester’s aggressive defending upset their usual rhythm.

Indeed, it was the visitors that started to put pressure on the North Dorset line and, after several near misses, Rich Deakin forced his way over in the cor- ner.

Baker converted from the touchline and Dorchester led by five at the break.

As the mist came down and the temperature dropped dramatically for the second period the floodlights had to be turned on.

The hosts upped their intensity and dominated the half, leaving Dorchester camped in their own territory for long periods.

However, the county town defence held firm and with 20 minutes to go, Dorchester were still leading.

North Dorset finally levelled with an unconverted try in the corner, and, from then, on things began to unravel for Dorchester.

They tired and then found themselves reduced to 13 men through two yellow cards.

This opened the floodgates and some clinical finishing saw North Dorset cross for three converted tries in the last 10 minutes to give a somewhat flattering look to the final score.

Dorchester: Cottell, Chalker, Hodgson, Makepeace, Harvey, Easter, E Grassby, Newsam, Allan, C King, Baker, Deakin, R Grassby, Morgan, Spensley. Replacements all used: Pengelly, Waddington, Toms.

Man of the Match: Ed Grassby