WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND III 5 DORCHESTER GLADIATORS 36

THE Gladiators overcame a shaky start at Monmouth Avenue to see off rivals Weymouth & Portland and move to the top of Dorset & Wilts Four.

Dorchester’s game plan was to spin the ball wide and unleash their young, speedy backs at every opportunity.

Unfortunately, once the match started, the plan went out of the window as the hosts scored within a minute.

A speculative kick over the top caught the Dorchester defence napping and Dave Allan won the race to dot down.

Dorchester retaliated and Steve King got the county town side back into the encounter with a try of his own.

The game then settled down and both sides tried to batter their way through the middle.

Only occasionally would Dorchester remember the plan to send the ball out to the backs, whose hands were so cold from a lack of action that they invariably knocked on.

Eventually a sequence of passes built up allowing King to go over for his second try.

And while the half ended with Weymouth advancing up the pitch and setting up camp on the Dorchester line, the away side’s defence held out.

The Gladiators started to play with more purpose after the interval and they found gaps in the Weymouth defence.

Their forwards achieved dominance in the scrum with several strikes against the head, and the large bench came into play while Weymouth began to tire.

Steve Hayward touched down for the Gladiators’ third score of the afternoon, followed by another one for King, who secured the bonus point in the process of completing his hat-trick.

Evergreen 51-year-old Allan Bickley then scored only his third try in 10 years for the club, and with the last play of the match Connor Skelland picked up a lucky bounce from a kick ahead to stroll under the posts unopposed.

Full-back Alex Skidmore added three conversions.

Dorchester, whose next game is at home to Wincanton on Saturday, January 17, now sit two points above Lytchett Minster Seconds at the top of the table.

Man of the Match: Steve King