Warminster 71 - Puddletown 3
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A SEVERELY depleted Puddletown suffered a Dorset & Wilts One South thumping at the hands of Warminster.
With more than half of the Villa-gers’ first choice squad unavailable, the trip to mid-table Warminster was always going to be a question of damage limitation.
But in the end, the home side’s comfortable win only told half the story, and Puddletown’s makeshift side can take great pride in the way they contested the entire 80 minutes.
That spirit was best summed up during the final quarter when, despite being well beaten at that stage, the Villagers’ pack still managed to find the energy to pin their opponents back in their own 22 for an extended period, forcing a succession of penalties.
Electing to scrummage, they twice drove the Warminster pack over their own try line and on both occasions number eight Ed Malpas appeared to ground the ball, only for an unsighted referee to have no option but to give the home side the benefit of the doubt.
A consolation try at that stage would have been some reward for the Puddletown pack which, despite having a decidedly unfamiliar line-up, nevertheless matched Warminster’s experienced forwards for the whole game, with the front row of Jon Wilson, Tim Yeatman and Rich Green looking particularly impressive in the set-pieces.
Scrum-half Ray Stephens, making only his second appearance of the season, showed his experience behind his pack, while the ever-improving Tom Yeatman at fly-half worked tirelessly.
In the end though it was the Villagers’ lack of mobility around the park that was their undoing, and each time the home backs got the ball in space they seemed able to outrun the visiting defensive line with relative ease, scoring a total of 10 tries – all from open play.
Puddletown’s solitary score came from a Dan Udell penalty midway through the second half.
Dorset Piddle Brewery Man of the Match: Jon Wilson
