8:54am Tuesday 2nd March 2010
By Echo Reporter
Puddletown 3 SWANAGE & WAREHAM II 39
PUDDLETOWN’S plight continued with a 16th straight defeat in Dorset & Wilts One South.
The Villagers, desperately seeking only their second win of the season, knew they would be in for a tough afternoon at home to a Swanage & Wareham side that had won their last five games on the spin.
And while they competed valiantly for the whole 80 minutes, Puddletown finished well beaten yet again.
Fielding a strong team, which included returning skipper Dan Udell, and a full bench of replacements, the home side began brightly enough.
As the two sets of forwards put one another to the test in midfield it was Puddletown who drew first blood with a well-struck penalty from Udell after 15 minutes.
The lead was short-lived though, and just five minutes later the Swans’ pack went through several phases to position themselves inside the Villagers’ 22, before picking their moment to break off the back of a ruck and score in the corner.
The try was unconverted and, undaunted, the hosts were soon back on the offensive with some good ball retention from the forwards leading to a series of fine breaks from the trio of Tom Yeatman, Udell, and his fellow centre Barry Dovell.
But despite this sustained period of pressure, the visitors’ defence held firm and, as so often this season, Puddletown were caught on the break with a second Swans’ try following a hopeful punt up-field.
A penalty on the stroke of half-time increased the away side’s lead to 10 points.
The loss of second row Paul Chidley to a knee injury was a major set-back for the Villagers as he, more than anyone, had been particularly effective in countering the threat of the big visiting forwards.
Gradually they began to exert more and more influence on the game and midway through the second period a trademark driving maul saw the Swans’ pack make a good 20 metres to cross the home line in the corner.
The try was converted to leave the hosts chasing four scores to reverse the result and although they continued to demonstrate some promising build-up play, the inevitable gaps began to appear in their own defence and the visitors ran in four more tries to seal a comfortable victory.
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