ELLINGHAM & RINGWOOD II 30 BRIDPORT 20 NEW head coach Mark Botten was upbeat in the face of defeat after Bridport went down by 10 points on the opening day of the Dorset & Wilts One South season.

Mike Pipworth twice crossed the whitewash while Matt Powne and Harry Smith also touched down for the visitors.

But despite outscoring their opponents by four tries to two, Ellingham & Ringwood kicked a host of penalties to secure victory.

Botten said: “We did not have the strongest side out as there were a few guys at a wedding and others had family commitments, but the guys who did play performed well and we were up against it somewhat.

“The game could have gone either way really as we were only two points behind with a few minutes to go.

“However, to score four tries to their two and still lose by 10 points was disappointing.”

Asked if there were reasons to feel positive ahead of this weekend’s outing, the Bridport chief replied: “Definitely. We’ve got Westbury at home and with them having a big pack we will see if we can tire them out.

“I’ve got eight players coming back this week but our captain Rob Sullivan, who broke a finger in training, is having an assessment to see how long he will be out for. At worse it could be six weeks.”