IF EVIDENCE was needed that rugby is not an exact science, Devizes could be presented as exhibit A.

Dave O'Sullivan's side has suffered from acute schizophrenia all season and, after thrashing Tadley in their earlier fixture and beating promotion contenders Wootton Bassett last week, the Saddlebacks took on their other persona at the Chivers Ground on Saturday and wilted under late pressure from the visitors.

Playing into a strong and swirling wind Devizes showed an encouraging sense of urgency and focus in the early phases of the game. Within minutes a cut out pass from fly-half Alex Bennett put centre Darren Burbidge through a gap, at pace. He struggled off the last defender to score a superbly conceived try. In the difficult wind conditions fullback, James Pople just missed the conversion. Tadley then caught Burbidge as he attempted to run out of defence and were awarded a penalty which was missed.

The home side's lineout options were reduced when flanker Mike Walsh left the field with a nasty leg injury. He was replaced by skipper Tom Reed, coming back from hamstring complaint.

Tadley didn't miss the next penalty, narrowing the lead, and it became apparent that their desire to stay out of the relegation zone was stronger than Devizes' aim to stay in the top four.

Tadley used the wind well to keep Devizes on the back foot and they lissed another penalty.

Scrum half Tom Collins, who had an outstanding all round game, almost made them pay when he broke blind from a scrum and linked with winger, Julian Taylor. He gave a smart inside pass to Burbidge who decided to take on the defence rather than spread the ball wide.

Devizes had another chance when the pack drove play into the Tadley 22 and were awarded a penalty which Pople missed.

Soon after an electric break out of defence started by Bennett was only ended when Jon Beddow was brought down in the Tadley 22. Devizes conceded yet another penalty and Tadley cleared their lines. On the stroke of half time Tadley accepted a further penalty and went in 6-5 ahead.

The Saddlebacks didn't make as much use of the following wind in the second half and hence, in spite of the efforts of a gallant pack, were always struggling to gain good field position.

Without consistent goal kicking it was difficult to see where a Devizes score would come from.

But after Pople had missed a penalty attempt the forwards built up momentum with forays from hooker Chris Billi, prop Dan Masters and number eight James Gaiger. Just when it seemed Tadley defence was stretched and therefore vulnerable, Bennet chose to drop a goal and nudged Devizes ahead 8-6.

This tenuous lead was soon cancelled and when Tadley decided to run the ball from a lineout in their own 22. Strong running broke several tackles and good support saw centre Bart Maddison in for an unconverted try. A successful penalty kick by Pople levelled the scores 11-11 but he missed another shortly afterwards.

Handling mistakes and infringements reduced Devizes' effectiveness whenever they made it into strike territory. Tadley, on the other hand, took their opportunities. Their fly half dropped a goal, Bennett missed one, before a failure to deal with a high ball let the pacey Tadley winger Gavin Dampies in for a try that sealed the game, 19-11.

n In friendly fixtures, Devizes seconds scored a 17-15 win over Salisbury and the veterans were humbled by a team of visiting Welshmen, but the loss didn't effect the subsequent annual Old Boars evening.