PUDDLETOWN 0

BOURNEMOUTH THIRDS 31

PUDDLETOWN suffered at the hands of Bournemouth Thirds in the Villagers’ first home game of the Wadworth 6X Dorset & Wilts One South season.

Both teams had identical records prior to this contest with one win and one loss in their opening two games.

The opening quarter of an hour at Greenfields was an evenly-fought contest, however, the home team then fumbled the ball from a five-metre scrum on their own line.

The ball went loose and was gleefully dotted down for a converted try, by an unsuspecting Bournemouth player.

The men in red continued to fight hard in defence but could not quite finish off any attacking possession.

Before the end of the first half, Bournemouth took advantage of two more mistakes by the home side to score two more unanswered tries.

The second half saw Puddletown playing up the hill, but with the wind.

Initially, they looked brighter, with some strong running from Pearce Mercer, Tom Yeatman and Jez Beale, but they still could not breach the well-drilled Bournemouth defence.

Fifteen minutes into the half, Bournemouth scored their fourth try from a line-out catch-and-drive move, thus securing the attacking bonus point.

From then on, it could have been one-way traffic, but with some solid defence from the home team, the visitors only scored one more try. It could have been a bigger margin had there not been some notable defensive heroics from veteran full-back Baz Dovell.

Overall the scoreline did not reflect the balance of play, but Bournemouth deserved the victory, having punished the home side’s errors in the first half.

This Saturday, Puddletown go to their local rivals Dorchester at Coburg Road.

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