WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND 85

SWANAGE & WAREHAM II 14

WEYMOUTH & Portland romped to a crushing 85-14 win over struggling Swanage & Wareham Seconds in what could be the Seahorses’ final fixture of the campaign.

All play in the Wadworth Dorset & Wilts One South, in line with a countrywide suspension from the English RFU, has been paused until Tuesday, April 14 amid the worsening coronavirus crisis.

With victory, Rich Bament’s men climbed into second behind unbeaten leaders Dorchester as Dorset Dockers did not play.

Should the Seahorses’ season end here, the Monmouth Avenue side can reflect on a hugely successful campaign.

Steered by the nous of coach Bament, Weymouth & Portland look set to drastically improve on last season’s finish of sixth place.

Improvements were evident in this fixture as the Swans had no answer to the hosts’ power.

The returning Will Quick crossed for two tries, adding to scores from Jake Guildford, Will Eckersley, Alex Toms, Ben Davies and James Cooper, with Toms converting six of the seven tries.

Swans could only muster one score as their flying teenage winger showed electric pace to beat three home players on the outside, galloping in to score. Swans still ceded a massive 40-point deficit at the break.

Weymouth & Portland continued their blitz in the second half as Cooper, Quick and Guildford all scored a further two tries each, Toms converting four times.

Swans were given late cheer as a maul punctured the home defence for a second try.

Speaking to Echosport, Bament was delighted with the display.

“It was a bit like a training session in the end,” he admitted.

“At times, it was hard to watch. But Swans, to their credit, never gave up and kept going.

“When we raced into a 21-point lead and got the bonus try within 20 minutes the writing’s on the wall.

“The guys didn’t go off piste, they kept doing what we’ve been doing all year.

“It wasn’t one person trying to do everything and run through them all, because Swans didn’t allow that.

“We had to work for most of the tries, nothing was easy.

“There was certainly no length of the field ones. They were well constructed.”

Bament added: “James Cooper’s was probably the best (try) of the first half, because he evaded quite a few tackles on the return kick and he went underneath the posts.

“And probably Jake Guildford’s in the second half when he went from the base of the scrum.”

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