DORSET & WILTS 43

DEVON 7

DORSET & Wilts turned on the style to seal a comprehensive victory over Devon in the RFU Under-20 County Championship.

The Twin Counties’ management had demanded their young charges produce a convincing victory if they were to progress into the knockout stages of the competition and their prayers were answered.

The forwards, led by Bournemouth lock Sam Bailey, laid the foundation for the win and except for a 15-minute period midway into the second half when the visitors made a desperate effort to get back into the contest, Dorset & Wilts controlled the game and emerged worthy victors.

It took 12 minutes for the Twin Counties to open their account when Sherborne prop Harry Wilson touched down for a try with his club mate, centre Rhodri Hopkins, adding the conversion.

With the visitors now penned inside their own territory and desperately defending their line it came as no surprise when Wilson crossed again for a second time with Hopkins again converting.

Half an hour had elapsed and Chippenham flank forward Sam Graham popped up on the left wing and crashed over to touch down for Dorset & Wilts.

That made the score 19-0 at the break.

Five minutes into the second half, a Devon back strayed offside and Hopkins stepped up and slotted the resulting penalty kick to add another three points to his team’s tally.

Salisbury wing forward James Hill was next to add his name to the scoresheet with a try converted again by Hopkins and that sealed a winning bonus point for the Twin Counties.

However, as the hour approached, Devon managed to win some useful possession with their best player, Ivybridge full-back Damon Akerman outpacing the home cover to cross in the corner and touchdown for their only try, with fellow Ivybridge man Mitch Pinkus converting.

As the game reached its latter stages and, with Devon visibly tiring, Dorset & Wilts added two more tries.

Firstly, Bournemouth second row James Fisher touched down and then Salisbury fly-half James Bagguley crossed, with Hopkins converting both to bring the proceedings to a close.

Now Dorset & Wilts will hope that Devon can recover for their home game against Somerset, who drew with the Twin Counties a couple of weeks ago, and take something from the game to ensure the Twin Counties a home fixture in the knockout stages of the competition.