PUDDLETOWN 76

OAKMEADIANS SECONDS 0

ON AN afternoon that was not conducive for running rugby with gusting winds and driving rain, unbeaten Puddletown proved too strong for Oakmeadians by running in 11 tries.

The home team started the game playing with the wind and opened the scoring after seven minutes with an unconverted try from second row Tom Nickisson. Captain Sam Bailley followed up with a penalty after the visitors were caught offside.

After 20 minutes, Matt Watts playing in the centre this week, ran in from the halfway line, showing the Oaks' full-back the most outrageous dummy on the way.

Bailley converted.

The home side added another try five minutes later with number eight Pearce Mercer parting the Oaks' defence like Moses parting the Red Sea to score under the posts. Bailley again added the extras.

Before the half-time break, the Bournemouth side were once again caught offside at a ruck on the 22m line in front of their own posts, Bailley missed with his first attempt, but the referee deemed that Oaks had moved prior to the kick and allowed the kick again, this time it sailed between the uprights to make it 25-0 at the break.

The Villagers were now playing into the elements, but this seemed to spur them on, from the kick-off, Oaks failed to gather the ball, James Perrett gathered it and the ball was recycled from one wing to the other and John Moise went over in the corner to score.

The open running rugby of the division leaders was too much for the visitors, centre Tom Yeatman, sliced through the defence to feed Matt Watts for his second try.

The home side scrum was winning ball on both put ins, the next two tries going to Mercer and Moise, both directly from first phase ball.

Mercer scored his third and best try from the halfway line, breaking through the flailing Oaks' defence and sprinting clear to score under the posts.

Puddletown rang the changes, but it had little effect on the flow of the game, replacement prop Carlos Altuzarra making a break from a ruck and offloading to Baz Dovell who went in to score under the posts.

The pressure was telling on the visitors, from a Puddletown scrum on the Oaks' 22m, a well-worked training ground scissors move, gave Matt Watts the space to blast through and score his third try.

Bailley added the conversion and another penalty in front of the posts.

The game came to a close, with another scrum won against the head, the ball fed out to Tom Yeatman who crashed through tackles on the 10m line and ran in to score the eleventh and final try.

Openside flanker Joe Malpas took the plaudits of the Puddletown coaches and was awarded the man of the match.