WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND 14

SALISBURY II 21

WEYMOUTH & Portland suffered their fifth defeat in six games with a 21-14 loss at Monmouth Avenue to Salisbury Seconds in Dorset & Wilts One South.

In an extremely tight opening to the game, neither side could break the deadlock until the 28th minute, as the hosts scored the first try.

In-form winger Norton Rogers was inevitably the man to provide the answer as he sped away to earn a score that fly-half Alex Toms converted into a 7-0 lead.

Just before the interval, Salisbury replied when full-back Jamie Wright broke through for a try. Salisbury’s Mike Bryan was able to convert for a 7-7 scoreline at half-time.

Weymouth & Portland began the second half in dominant fashion and needed just five minutes to cross for their second try of the game.

Prop Andy Bowditch was the Seahorses’ scorer, piling over the line despite the attentions of three Salisbury defenders. Toms again converted to hand the hosts a 14-7 lead.

But from there the home side stuttered with the concession of four penalties enabling Salisbury prop Mike De-Waldon to score, with Bryan adding the extras to level the game for a second time.

On 63 minutes, Salisbury centre Ollie Dykes finished off an excellent move to score the visitors’ third try and Bryan notched his third conversion of the game as the Wiltshire side held on for the win.

Speaking to Echosport, club president Des Quick believed the Seahorses had lost their “organisation”.

He said: “It was a game Weymouth should have won. The game was broken up and I think we lost our organisation.

“It came down to the fact that their defence was stronger than ours. We lacked structure as the game went on.”

Seasiders’ coach Barry Ross-Mackenzie felt that a lack of discipline cost his side.

He said: “We have to improve our discipline and our fitness that is why we lost. I lost count of the number of penalties that we gave away, particularly in the second half when we tired.

“We went from pressing them on their own line then committed four errors in succession that allowed Salisbury to draw level and it looked inevitable that we would concede again and we did three minutes later and we didn’t have the ability to come back and lost the game and that just is not good enough.”

Seahorses: A Bowditch, Sankey, Hamilton, Leatham, Billington, Dixon, Driver, D Bowditch, Allan, Toms, Rogers, Nixon, Guest, Harris, Richards. Reps: Hurrell, Tibble, Vaughan

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