Dorchester 41 CORSHAM 18

NEVER was the phrase “a game of two halves” more appropriate as Dorchester brought the curtain down on their Southern Counties South campaign with a 23-point victory.

For the first 40 minutes, the county town side were second best in almost every department, conceding three unconverted tries and a penalty due to a combination of poor concentration and weak tackling.

The only two bright spots were tries from Matt Read and Adam Jones, one of which was converted by the latter.

Remarkably, at the break, despite all their failings, Dorchester were only six points behind.

Not for the first time this season, head coach Mike Sprules laid into his troops during the interval and it was a completely different side that started the second half.

The hosts completely dominated every phase, not allowing Corsham even a sniff of a further score.

Two more tries apiece for Read and Jones and one for Rich Bament, making his first appearance since injuring his ankle at Wimborne in early December, meant that Dorchester ended the league season with a comprehensive win.

Jones added two conversions to complete the scoring.

Dorchester can be reasonably pleased with a sixth-place finish in the table but know that they will need to improve further if they want to make a real impact next season.

Dorchester: Hodgson, Chalker, Cottell (Pengelly 60), Broadbent, Underhill (Warren 20), Hawkins, Newsam, Dixon, D Gower, Rossiter, Biddle, Jones, Harvey, T Gower (Bament 70), Read.

Man of the Match: Ian Dixon