YEOVIL 51 BRIDPORT 5

BACK in September, Bridport were blown away by a superior Yeovil side, and although the scoreline on Saturday suggests a similar rout, the Blues competed strongly for long periods.

The visitors were without several key players and had to field a makeshift back line which struggled a little in attack and was, at times, overwhelmed in defence.

However, Lance Samways had a standout game at outside centre.

For the forwards, Al McNab was a constant thorn in Yeovil’s side, and, in fact, the forwards enjoyed parity throughout the game, save for the odd line-out wobble.

Bridport started strongly and it was slightly against the run of play that the home side scored first, with a clever chip kick to find the left wing who sprinted over the line. The conversion went wide.

Yeovil continued to press but were guilty of spilling their passes at critical moments.

However, their ambition was rewarded when a speculative flick back from a loose ball fell kindly to hand and, this time, the right wing scored. The conversion went in off the posts to make it 12-0 to the hosts.

Bridport responded well, forcing a penalty upfield, and kicking for touch. From the resulting lineout, McNab burst through the opposition to score in the corner.

The conversion was missed (12-5).

The home side were always threatening though, and added two more tries at the end of the first half, one of which was converted for 24-5.

Excellent handling and good lines of running produced two more unconverted tries for Yeovil early in the second half, but Bridport held firm for much of the rest, defending with great spirit.

It was only right at the end as legs began to tire that Yeovil ran away with it, scoring three tries in quick succession.