Weymouth take derby spoils

WITH more than forty players given the opportunity of catching the eye of their respective selectors, this final pre-season trial game was always going to be a rather stop-start affair.

Nevertheless, the fact that it was a local derby still gave it a sufficiently competitive edge and resulted in some good passages of play from both teams.

The Villagers elected to start with their strongest available line-up and, playing with the stiff breeze at their backs, soon began to gain the advantage through some well-drilled forward play.

The home defence coped well but the pressure eventually told and after 15 minutes Toby Musgrove put them in front with a simple penalty kick.

The rest of the half belonged to Puddletown and just before the break teenage centre Aaron Fookes dashed through a gap for his first try in senior rugby. Musgrove added the extras.

The second half saw both sides ring the changes and this seemed to result in a more balanced formation for Weymouth, who soon got themselves back in the game with a well-taken score from Anthony Coburn, following some quick hands through the backs.

On the other hand, the positional changes made by the visitors took away some of their edge, part- icularly up front, and the hosts grad- ually gained control in midfield.

Into the final quarter, and using their larger squad to full advantage, Weymouth finally breached the Villagers’ resolute defence again with late tries from Tom Beech and David Oakford, both scores being converted by Nathan Allan.

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