Dorchester crowned

DORCHESTER were crowned league champions after a 25-point triumph at Warminster.

The win however, which secures an immediate return to Southern Counties South, was far from a formality as the home side produced a highly committed performance and, particularly in the first half, tested Dorchester’s defence to the limit.

The visitors started well in their penultimate Dorset & Wilts One South fixture but quickly realised that their hosts were not going to make it easy for them.

Fifteen minutes passed before the county town outfit opened the scoring, centre Lee Harvey strolling through to score under the posts. Rich Bament added the conversion.

Warminster fought back well, forcing the visitors to defend for long periods and coming close to scoring on several occasions.

On a rare visit to the home line Dorchester extended their lead. A trademark burst through midfield by Bament took him past several defenders before touching down wide on the left.

Stung by this reverse, the hosts camped on the visiting line and finally the scrum-half blasted over from close range. The try was converted and Dorchester reached the interval only five points to the good.

As the second half started, the county town side tightened up their game. The forwards began to show their normal dominance at the scrum and, with James Newsam picking off Warminster’s line-out ball at will, the hosts were forced to live off scraps and Dorchester mistakes.

As the pressure mounted Bament popped over a simple penalty and the away side finally settled down.

The champions-elect never quite managed to hit the heights of their performance against Bridport the previous week, but they did manage three more tries.

Newsam touched down following a clever pass from skipper Dave Gower before Harvey scored a second in almost identical fashion to his first.

With the game coming to a close, Newsam hunted down the Warminster fly-half behind his own try-line and from the resulting five-metre scrum the inevitable pushover try ensued with Gower getting the touchdown. A Bament conversion completed the scoring and the league title was in the bag.

Delighted head coach Mike Sprules said: “It was a different sort of game and we didn’t play particularly well but it was a win at the end of the day.

“At the start of the season promotion wasn’t the be all and end all but we’ll take it with open arms and hopefully we can maintain our current mindset for next season.”

Dorchester: Bamlet, Chalker, Boyt (Hodgson 70), Hodges, Broadbent, Hawkins, Newsam, D Gower, Weller, Rossiter (Biddle 60), Spensley, Harvey, Firkin, Elliott, Bament.

Man of the Match: Tom Bamlet.