WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND 40

BLANDFORD 12

WEYMOUTH & Portland carried on their good start to the season with a brilliant 40-12 demolition of Blandford in Dorset & Wilts One South.

The Seahorses now sit sixth in the table with two wins, one draw and one loss so far, but are just three points off second-placed Swanage & Wareham.

Weymouth went ahead from the first play in the first minute with a blind side move through Norton Rogers who scored in the corner followed by a successful conversion from Alex Toms.

After four minutes, Tim Comben extended their lead when he bulldozed his way over the line and another successful conversion gave Weymouth a fantastic 14-0 lead after just four minutes.

However, Blandford dug in and kept pushing and got their reward when they got over the line just before half-time but with a missed conversion.

Weymouth opted to go into the changing room for a discussion but it clearly worked as they came out firing in the second half.

Within two minutes, Louis Allan scored a great individual try with another conversion from Toms.

Weymouth kept hold of possession to prevent Blandford using the possession and ran rampant.

Andy Bowditch grabbed Weymouth’s fourth try not long after Allan’s try to make it 28-5, before Allan grabbed his second with a blind side move from 40 metres but with a missed conversion to boost Weymouth to 33-5.

Blandford managed a converted try with five minutes remaining on the clock but it was to be in scant consolation.

Louis Richards grabbed a try just before the final whistle when he brushed several Blandford players to run the ball over the line, with a successful conversion.

Seahorses’ head coach Simon Litster said: “It was very satisfying. “I suppose to coin an old adage it was a little bit of a game of two halves. We played with the wind and down the slope in the first half to give ourselves a good opportunity to get some points up.

“I am really happy with the second-half performance. We scored four tries in the second half, against the wind and up the slope which a lot has to be said for the team effort on that.

“It was very satisfying, because Blandford is a team that came down from the league above and that was always going to be a

big test.”

Weymouth next host Oakmeadians on Saturday, October 20.

Seahorses: Comben, B Hayne, Bowditch, Gilderd, Norton, Richards, D Hayne, Oaksford, Allan, Toms, Harris, Frost, Savage, Rogers, Farley, Reps: Sankey, Hamilton, Tibble, Keable-Kinsella, Davis

Man of the match: Ryan Harris

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