Minety 8, Trowbridge 16

TROWBRIGE secured their first Dorset and Wilts Division One victory of the season in a game that was far more one-sided than the score line suggests.

Trowbridge dominated in all phases of play, with a good platform for possession being secured by powerful scrummaging from the front row of Adie Moodie. Sean Phillips and Paul Stockley.

Playing on the home side's infamous sloping pitch, Trowbridge were able to open the scoring with a fine predatory try from back row forward Barry Coombs, full back Phil Stockley adding the conversion.

Several good phases of play took Trowbridge deep into the Minety half and on several occasions Trowbridge were only stopped from scoring by their own over-ambitious play and lack of concentration.

Midway through the game Minety hit back against the run of play with a try and penalty to momentarily take the lead 8-7.

This only instilled a sense of urgency in the Trowbridge side and they were able to hit back with three further penalties from Phil Stockley to secure a well-deserved victory.

Minety 2nds 12, Trowbridge 2nds 34

TROWBRIDGE started brightly, with early tries from Craig Stritch and Andy Miller and a conversion by Tony Speed, before relaxing and allowing Minety back into the game.

Despite the advantage of the slope and elements in the first half Trowbridge could only build a 12-5 lead by half time.

Minety started the second half strongly and within two minutes of the restart the scores were level, after a series of defensive errors allowed Minety to score under the posts. This acted as a wake up call to Trowbridge, who dominated in every aspect of the game from then on.

After a superb sweeping move by the backs the ball was quickly recycled and captain Chris Barlow was able to crash over for his first try of the season. Tony Speed added the conversion, and shortly afterwards another penalty to extend the lead to 10 points.

Further tries came from Jamie Little and Alex Huscroft and Speed added another conversion to make the final score 34-12.

Trowbridge 3rds 22, Walcot 3rds 22

TROWBRIDGE made a remarkable comeback in a game of two halves.

In the first half Walcot romped away to a 22-0 lead and at half time it looked as if they might run away with the game in the second half.

However, after a couple of tactical substitutions, most notably No 8 Jason Reed who dominated in the second half, Trowbridge were able to level the scores with tries from Dave Parfitt, Pip Mould, John Parfitt and Damien Lawes, with a conversion being added by Jason Harvey.

Unfortunately the final whistle came too early for Trowbridge, who looked as if they would sneak a win in the final seconds of the game.

Bridport 25, Cooper Avon Tyres 18

COOPER-AVON travelled for this rearranged Dorset and Wilts Division One fixture and, with the wind in their favour, took an early lead when winger Terry Case scored under the posts, Richard Woolfood converting.

For the second week running the Cooper Avon scrummage was under pressure. Aided by poor tackling and basic errors from the visitors, Bridport ran in three unconverted tries in the first half, full back Brett Frampton scoring two and winger John Bushrod the other.

In reply a penalty by Woolfood and a try by replacement Mick Hurn saw the sides level at half time 15-15. An early drop goal from Woolfood at the start of the second half gave the Melksham side a brief lead, but Bridport pinned the visitors in their half and a penalty by fly half John Allen and converted try from scrum half Forbes Watson saw Bridport to victory.

The seconds had an excellent victory over Supermarine, with tries from centre Kevin Moran, winger Darren Miller and full back Matt Trueman, all converted by stand off Richard Foley, gave the home side a 21-5 win. The thirds travelled to Supermarine 2nds to lose 46-8. Captain Tony Greenslade scored a try and Steve Harris kicked a penalty.

Westbury 2nds 47, Colerne 17

HAVING lost to the same opposition on the opening day of the season, Westbury ran out comfortable winners on a day when they introduced a number of new young players.

With a good solid platform given by their pack, the Westbury backs were given plenty of opportunity to run with the ball.