DORSET DOCKERS 87

WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND 0

A SEVERELY depleted Weymouth & Portland side were routinely thrashed 87-0 by promotion-chasing Dorset Dockers in their Wadworth 6X Dorset & Wilts One South clash.

The Seahorses were also whitewashed by the league’s second-placed team 50-0 earlier this season, but with a litany of first-team players out, the Seahorses could not have been expected to make an impression on the in-form Christchurch-based side.

Simon Litster’s men, who have now conceded 80 or more points in successive games, did create opportunities to score but were held up near the line by inspired Dockers tackling. Coach Litster admitted the result was a “foregone conclusion.”

He told Echosport: “We just didn’t have the numbers. We scrabbled around and took 16 willing bodies up to Dockers, but they are a team in form. They beat Dorchester a couple of weeks ago.

“They’re second in the league but they’re a better side than Dorchester. I wouldn’t be surprised if they managed to spring a surprise and go up instead.

“Some of (our) guys haven’t played for 20 years – credit to them, they stuck at it. It was a foregone conclusion that we’d lose the game, it was a question of how many.”

He added: “We came close to scoring a couple of times but unfortunately last-ditch tackles meant that it was a zero game on our side.

“We gave away a lot of tries through the middle as usual. A lot of the players played out of position. Out of the 16 we only had two regular backs. We were playing with forwards in the back line, which didn’t help.”

But there were two stand-out performers for the Seahorses, with the returning Rory Frost and regular Andy Bowditch earning Litster’s praise.

He said: “All the lads voted Rory as man-of-the-match on our side. Andy had another good game, he carried the ball well in hand.

“But 87-0 was obviously disappointing. The conditions were atrocious and we kicked off with sleet driving across the field.

“They stuck at it and the mood was surprisingly positive at the end because they realised that they gave 100 per cent.

“On a positive note there’s a lot coming out of the woodwork wanting to play social rugby so it looks as though we are building momentum to resurrecting a second team.

“That’s giving us a chance to play some young lads with the adults.”

Weymouth & Portland now face a must-win game at home against fellow relegation candidates Lytchett Minster on Saturday.

Seahorses: Hamilton, Sankey, Berry, J Leatham, Oaksford, Frost, Keable-Kinsella, Allan, Orlacchio, A Bowditch, Curley, Williams, Young, Winnard, Scadden