BRIDPORT 6

WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND 35

IN A game that lacked sparkle second placed Weymouth & Portland were too strong for Bridport in all facets of the game, winning 35-6 at the Brewery Ground.

The Seahorses dominated the set pieces and controlled possession in their Tribute Dorset & Wilts One South encounter.

With the limited ball they had, the Blues were not able to make any inroads against a solid defence, losing by 29 points.

On a wet grey day, Weymouth kicked and as so often has been the case this season the Blues were soon on the back foot, the Weymouth forwards driving into the 22 and getting the ball out wide for the first score from Jacob Cummings which was well converted by Ryan Lewendon from the touchline.

READ MORE: Weymouth & Portland 43-12 Bournemouth Thirds

The Blues responded when Weymouth were penalised from the kick-off with Mitch Waters on target to take the three points.

Waters had a second chance to reduce the deficit when he made an excellent break from the kick-off into the 22. Weymouth were again penalised, but his attempt just drifted wide.

Weymouth now began to show their ball retention as the Blues struggled to gain any possession but, after Alex Munroe was bundled into touch from a clever cross-kick, the Blues won a line-out penalty and this time Waters was on target to take the three points for 7-6.

Weymouth then dominated the next period of the game, keeping play in the Blues' 22 and taking two penalties through Lewendon to extend their lead to 13-6.

Bridport could only get scraps of possession and were playing mainly in the middle of the pitch with only the occasional line break quickly turned over.

Weymouth stole a Blues line-out and after a half-break was well supported by their backs Luke Beynon scored in the corner to lead 18-6.

The Blues had a brief spell their opponents' 22 just before half-time when they opted to run two successive penalties but were kept out by a strong Weymouth defence.

The second half was much the same as the first with Weymouth dominating possession and keeping the scoreboard ticking over, scoring through Andy Bowditch in the first 20 minutes as the Blues struggled to set up any consistent phases of play and break the Weymouth defence.

In the final quarter they managed to have their best period of the game with good possession forcing Weymouth into constant infringing to keep their line intact resulting in two yellow cards and a short period of uncontested scrums.

Sadly for the Blues they were not able to take advantage against 13 men as a couple of unforced errors from quickly taken penalties let Weymouth off the hook.

With Weymouth back to full strength they were able to add two tries and Dan Bowditch crossed the whitewash and then Cummings gathered a loose ball and ran clear to score his second.

Bridport captain Andrew Livingston said: "Weymouth and Portland is a local derby for us and for the first half we showed the dogged determination needed for the game.

"Unfortunately, in the second half we let our standards slip and the game got away from us.

"We’ve had to do a lot of learning during the first half of this season but I am hopeful we can take this forward to be more competitive in 2022."