Marlborough beat Swindon 36-17 in Regional Two South Central

Marlborough’s struggling neighbours came out all guns blazing on The Common and steadily accumulated a 12-0 lead within the first half an hour. Swindon could have been 19-0 up if not for a try-saving tackle from Marlborough winger Callum Hunt which prevented a score under the posts.

An extraordinary forward move by tight-head prop Gareth Smith galvanised Marlborough late in the first half, though, and from there the home side roared back. Ash Horner crashed over the line following an attacking line-out deep in Swindon’s half, and five minutes later, Weir Filikitonga out-paced two defenders to score.

Just before half-time and seconds after a Marlborough attacking scrum, the home team flicked wide for Hunt to dot down in the corner. Marlborough’s two most-recent tries were left unconverted as the score read 17-12 at the break.

The hosts’ momentum was maintained after half-time, with Vili Hakalo crossing under the posts and the conversion being added. Following an excellent penalty clearance from Will Grant, the resulting maul set from the line out saw the home side’s hooker, Solomone Aniseko crash over for an unconverted try in the 53rd minute.

Even though Marlborough were the more dominant side, they still managed to squander scoring opportunities. Luckily for them, Swindon did not manage to take advantage.

A score apiece capped off the afternoon’s action – Akariva Seruvatu bagged a converted try for Marlborough before Swindon replied with a score of their own in the final play of the game.

Elsewhere in the division, Devizes edged past bottom side Buckingham 29-24 on their travels.

In Regional Two Severn, Trowbridge beat Chosen Hill Former Pupils 17-16 at home, while Chippenham went down 38-26 away to Cheltenham.

Royal Wootton Bassett suffered a 33-10 loss away at London Welsh in Regional One South Central to remain bottom of that division by five points.