NORTH DORSET 61 DORCHESTER 7

STRUGGLING Dorchester were hit by a late blitz by North Dorset at Slaughtergate.

In a repeat of the reverse fixture between the two sides, the county town side were competitive for an hour before North Dorset pulled clear in the last quarter.

The visitors had the benefit of the wind in the first period and used it well to keep the hosts in their own half for long periods.

For once, Dorchester were struggling in the scrum and it was from a heel against the head that North Dorset scored their first try.

Their second also came from the scrum dominance as they pushed Dorchester back over their own line.

Both tries were converted to give North Dorset a healthy lead.

Dorchester struck back, forcing North Dorset to concede a string of penalties close to their line and they got their reward when Callum King crashed over for what was to be Dorchester’s only score of the day.

King converted his own try and the teams went into half-time just seven points apart.

Playing down the slope and, with the wind at their backs, the hosts looked to close the game out.

Dorchester defended bravely for 20 minutes, restricting their opponents to just two further tries before North Dorset’s relentless waves of attack proved too much.

The final quarter was one-way traffic as Dorchester had no answer to the host’s pace out wide and the hosts added five more converted tries to their total.

Dorchester: Warren, Pengelly, Bamlet, Hodgson, L King, Arnold, Robson, Makepeace, Bosher, Foot, Haskell, M Evans, C King, Deakin, Clark, Underhill, Fry, Lawton