MARLBOROUGH moved to within one win of clinching the Regional Two South Central title following a 53-8 victory over Tottonians on Saturday.
The Wiltshire outfit were held to just a two-point advantage at half-time before blowing their opponents away in the second 40 minutes on the common.
Following a breathless first five minutes, Marlborough struck first through Will Reeve before doubling their try count thanks to Ben Fulton inside the opening quarter.
Despite further home pressure, Tottonians managed to find a route back into the contest courtesy of a converted try out wide late in the first half. The visitors did not stop there either, slotting a penalty prior to the half-time whistle which reduced the score to 10-8.
After a couple of half-time changes, Marlborough put the gritty half of rugby behind them and showed flair, dedication, and quality as they put the hammer down.
Viliami Hakalo crashed over for the first of seven second-half tries, with Ollie Spanswick following that score up in similar fashion moments later.
By this time, Marlborough were winning the aerial battle as well as the physical one. Following a couple of successful lineouts, Solomone Aniseko crossed after leaving the back of a well-driven maul.
Midway through the second half, Akarive Seruvatu dotted down for the first of his three scores on the day.
It took just four minutes for the winger to notch again after stepping between two tackles and wrong-footing a defender to go over.
And 10 minutes later, Seruvatu completed his hat-trick by demonstrating fancy footwork to beat multiple defenders and score in the corner.
The final try of the game belonged to Ben Fulton, but all of the work was done by Lemeki Moala in the build-up. Forward Moala, who had surprisingly found himself on the wing, threw a dummy pass to break the Tottonians line before slipping the ball to Fulton after dragging over the final defender.
Marlborough can secure the title with a win at home to Buckingham on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Devizes lost 29-25 away at Shipston on Stour.
In Regional Two Severn, Trowbridge were beaten 46-28 by Thornbury and Chippenham lost 50-19 against Newent.
Royal Wootton Bassett lost 28-19 to Banbury in Regional One South Central.
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