A depleted Devizes squad travelled to Melksham to play a triangulation fixture between Melksham and Warminster on Sunday morning.

With Tom Jaggs and Stuart Hartley, both injured, Devizes had to play a number of players out of position to cover for the missing forwards. Consequently the standard of close quarter play was not as high as the Devizes supporters are used to, with aggression and determination lacking.

Nonetheless, the quality of midfield play was as good as usual, with Bryn New playing an excellent controlling game in his role as scrum half, consistently feeding his inside centres with pinpoint accuracy.

Alastair Broughton was on fire, his aggression and ball winning skills were unequalled, and when combined with his ability to find space and accelerate into it, he clearly stood out as the man of the moment.

Within two minutes against Melksham, he had scored his first try, and characteristically scored another two to complete his hat trick before the interval.

Devizes made rolling substitutions to cater for injuries, and to give everyone the opportunity to play. But it was clear that a weakness existed in the rucks and mauls, which Melksham identified and, during the second half they changed tactics, played a close game and frequently stole possession, earning them two tries.

Unfortunately for them, it was not enough to overhaul their visitors, with the final score 15-10 in Devizes' favour.

Devizes 25 Warminster 10

Devizes went on to play Warminster, and once again Alastair Broughton was the man to watch. He revelled in the glory of no fewer than five tries.

No one was getting past Alex Pattle who was tackling like a demon, as was Guy Davies, at least until he was unceremoniously steamrollered into touch by two Warminster defenders just short of the try line.

Strong runs from Laurence Hanna and Sacha Yates added spice to a lively game, but it was to be Broughton's day as he produced an outstanding performance to ensure that Devizes beat Warminster 25-10, and extend their undefeated run to four months.

Devizes U8

The first matches of 2005 for Devizes was a three way fixture against CAT Malksham and Warminster on Sunday.

Despite five weeks without match practice and the excitement of contact training they produced a very promising performance.

Team one took on a good CAT side who had already warmed up by beating Warminster.

Despire going in cold, they produced a high quality team performance particularly in their support for the ball carrier in attacking play. CAT won a thrilling match 4-3 after Devizes were adjudged to have been overphysical in the tackle and CAT were able to score in the last seconds of the match . Captain and man of the match Harry Baldwin organised the side well and led by example.

Team two's match against Warminster was a much more one-sided affair as Devizes dominated, winning 4-1.

The Saddlebacks scored four tries, the best being another team effort - created by Tommy Joyce's aggressive tackle then quick thinking from Ben Holland and finished off by Cameron Garbutt two passes later.