CHIPPENHAM II 34

WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND 36

WEYMOUTH & Portland earned promotion with a thrilling 36-34 play-off victory at Chippenham Seconds.

Playing on the Wiltshire side’s 3G surface, the Seahorses faced a nervous wait while Chippenham attempted a conversion with the last kick of the game.

However, faced with an extremely difficult kick into the wind, the effort missed the target and Weymouth & Portland took victory to spark delirious scenes on the touchline.

The Seahorses now join rivals Dorchester in the Counties One Tribute Southern South next season, but they began poorly as Chippenham scored a try from the kick-off.

READ MORE: Weymouth & Portland Seconds 12-45 Bournemouth Fourths - report

Rich Bament’s men, who won the Counties Two Tribute Dorset & Wilts South title, responded when Alex Toms landed a penalty and then converted Scott Greaney’s try for a 10-5 lead.

The lead changed hands several times in the first half as Chippenham responded with their second try.

However, Tim Comben rumbled over and Billy Hayne notched the Seahorses’ third try, added to another penalty from Toms.

Chippenham were only 25-24 adrift at the break and contained the Seahorses to two further Toms penalties, while scoring a try of their own.

Jacob Brunell charged over to score Weymouth & Portland’s final try with ten minutes to go, extending his side’s lead to 36-29.

That was until Chippenham scored in the corner at the death, only for their conversion to fall short of the posts and send the Seahorses into wild promotion celebrations.

Speaking to Echosport, Bament said: “They were buzzing on the pitch, a lively afternoon had by all!

“It was more of a relief, because they knew they had it in them that they could do it.

“They all want to play for each other, there’s no superstars.

“They follow their patterns and if one of them doesn’t do it, they know there will be 14 others in a blue shirt following, which is all you can ask for.”

He added: “Personally, I’m really pleased.

“Three years I’ve been down there and you could see there were good players, you just had to work out the best way they were going to enjoy their rugby and get the rewards they deserved.

“Three years work with the majority of the same players, we’ve got the results.

“The players all enjoy it, they’re the ones who make the decisions on the pitch. At the minute, they’ve made the right decision and are reaping the rewards.”

Weymouth & Portland now turn their attentions to the Papa John’s Community Cup, where a trip to Warminster awaits on Saturday in the Counties Two Championship section.

Bament added: “It’s a straight knockout, so we’ll do the best we can.

“The main focus was the league and wherever we go in the cup, we’ll take each game as it comes.

“They’ve had a strong finish, they finished second and certainly won’t be a pushover.

“We’ll have to be on our peak performance, especially at Warminster.

“If we stick to our gameplans, most teams can’t live with us.”