DORCHESTER II 24

PUDDLETOWN 19

WITH Dorchester’s first team Counties One Tribute Southern South clash against Avonvale forfeited due the opposition not being able to field a side, the focus fell onto the county town’s A XV at Surcouf Park on Saturday.

In a mouthwatering local derby, local neighbours Puddletown made the short trip for the Counties Three Tribute Dorset & Wilts fixture.

The visitors chose to play up the slope in the first half no doubt sensibly hoping the second half would give them the advantage, as legs tired, of using the slope in their favour.

Lacking match practice, Dorchester A looked a little disjointed amid early errors.

READ MORE: Dorchester 58-12 Yeovil - match report

Early on, Puddletown applied pressure and soon steamed up the slope with forwards working well and their ball retention good.

This led to an early score soon followed by a solid scrum where they span the ball out wide for the left winger to go over for their second try. With the conversion, the Villagers led 12-0.

As Dorchester began to settle into a rhythm, both sides were looking for openings to sail through each other’s defence. The home side’s forays into Puddletown’s territory were thwarted by good defence and some handling errors.

The visitors weathered the storm and Joe Malpas eventually sailed over the line for a try which was converted giving the visitors a commanding 19-0 lead at half-time.

Dorchester came out attacking up the slope for the second half and following some great defence by the opposition, Scott Peach found an opening and torpedoed Puddletown’s defence on the right try line. Alex Sharp converted giving the home side a welcome lifeline.

The home side then followed up after being awarded a penalty this time with Callum King going over for a further try, taking the score to 12-19.

Building upon this, the home side worked their way back into opposition territory against the tide and scored another try, this time unconverted.

More probing from Dorchester led to Kieran Fry scoring his first of the day from close quarters.

Shortly after this, Puddletown’s scrum-half was pressured by Fry who collected the ball to again escape the opposition defence. Sharp converted, giving Dorchester a 24-19 lead.

Puddletown finished the stronger side and came close to scoring in the final throes of the game, but Dorchester’s defence held strong and shored up well against the visitors’ attack.

Player of the match for Dorchester was shared between Guy Chalstrey and Jimmy Louch, the latter putting in a big shift with his depth charge like carries to the opposition’s waterline.

Malpas picked up the player of the match for Puddletown for his consistent good work across the park.

The win negates the home side’s five-point deduction from last week’s unfulfilled fixture and leaves them seventh in the table, whilst Puddletown sit second behind Sherborne Seconds.