WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND 31

SWANAGE & WAREHAM II 7

WEYMOUTH & Portland sealed their remarkable passage to Dorset & Wilts One South safety with a dominant 31-7 victory over Swanage & Wareham Seconds in the final game of the season at Monmouth Avenue.

Lewis Allan scored two tries while fellow Seahorses Billy Hayne, Mike Robinson and Norton Rogers also crossed for a bonus-point win that ensured the hosts finished in ninth, one point above Bridport, who beat North Dorset 28-5.

New Milton Seconds occupy the last relegation spot above bottom side Lytchett Minster, but it is likely Swanage & Wareham Seconds will be relegated instead, pending an end-of-season league meeting, with their first team dropping from Southern Counties South.

No two sides from the same club are permitted to compete in the same division.

Speaking to Echosport, co-coach Simon Litster admitted the turnaround in fortunes, which saw the Seahorses win their last four games, all with bonus points, was “something special”.

He said: “It was a big result. I don’t think the lads would have been satisfied with anything else than four wins out of four, and the bonus point in all of them was something special.

“The lads realised that if Bridport beat North Dorset is would be possible that they would leapfrog us and we’d have ended up one place off the bottom. Bridport did win but we ended up a point ahead of them.”

Hayne got the home side off to a perfect start after 10 minutes, charging down a clearance kick and running on to score a converted try, capitalising on a concerted spell of pressure in the Swans’ 22.

Allan added the first of his brace, scoring to the right of the posts after a patient move for a 14-0 half-time lead.

And the Seahorses’ scrum-half sprinted through a gap in the Swans’ defence seconds after the resumption to grab his second score of the game.

Weymouth & Portland continued to press for more tries and they were rewarded when Mike Robinson finished off an excellent move to earn a 24-0 lead.

But the Swans responded when an attack heavily involving their forwards resulted in a converted try.

The hosts’ jet-heeled winger Norton Rogers had the final say, however, speeding through the away defence to add a converted score.

But Litster reserved sympathy for the Swans, who face the strong possibility of a drop to Two South despite finishing seventh of 12 teams.

He said: “The Swans’ players were pretty despondent. They may go down a league to Two South and, to be honest, they’re better than that, so it’s a shame.”

Seahorses: Comben, B Hayne, Berry, J Leatham, K Leatham, Richards, D Hayne, Oaksford, Allan, Toms, Orlaccio, A Bowditch, Cameron, Rogers, Robinson. Reps: Hamilton, Driver, Keable-Kinsella, Tibble, Young, Farley, Davis, Norton