That's my ball. Salisbury and High Wycombe players give it their all during Saturday's match. AFTER last week's less than convincing performance at Windsor, Salisbury faced a midweek honesty session on personal commitment and their answer was un-equivocally given where it matters most - on the pitch, writes Stuart McArdell.

Kicking up the slope on the Hudsons Field pitch after their Castle Road surface was deemed unplayable, Salisbury's forwards played with urgency and agg-ression, forcing the High Wycombe players back yards in the tackles and rucks.

The second row combination of Ellis and Kennedy were uncompromising in their work and the whole pack went about their business with grim purpose.

This gave the backs plentiful supply of ball going forward and they relished the opportunity to attack through the centre and the wings.

Twice Salisbury's attacks forced the visitors into conceding desperate defensive errors and first Parsons and then Dave Bell converted the penalties.

But against the run of play, a long kick down the slope gave High Wycombe a line-out on their hosts' ten-yard line. A clean catch and drive led to a well worked try and Salisbury were 6-7 down at half time.

Wycombe opened the second half with a fierce attack with their big front row taking crash ball near the ruck only to run into Jason Kennedy's bone-jarring tackle and spill the ball.

Nick Stallard plucked it from the air and charged out of the 22 before setting Tom Pottage off down the wing. Bell took the inside pass before being hauled down near the try line. The pack surged in and the ball was recycled to Pottage to finish the move.

Minutes later Bell scored the try of the match with a beautifully executed up and under before re-gathering the ball and outpacing the defence for a fine individual try.

By now Salisbury's strategy was clear and Bell again used a kick ahead to pressure and nail Wycombe's full-back. Scrum-half Joe Faulkner whipped the ball out to Pottage and the wing celebrated his second try of the game.

Salisbury were winning set pieces at will and a clean take at a half way line-out saw stand off John Penry chip through. Wycombe's full-back fumbled and Bell recovered and passed in one fluid movement for winger Pete Upton to sprint clear of the defence for his side's fourth try.

Ironically, the real test of Salisbury's character arrived in the last ten minutes when the visitors launched wave after wave of attack to close the score.

With dynamic flanker Nick Trinaman sin-binned for a technical offence, not one Salisbury player missed a tackle and Wycombe's second try, on full time, would surely have failed the video replay test as the ball was dropped over the line in the tackle.

This was a victory because 15 men played as a team.

If they can take that into Saturday's difficult away fixture at Marlow, then they could start to change the direction of their season.