SHERBORNE SECONDS 60

BRIDPORT 0

BRIDPORT were easily swatted aside by Sherborne Seconds in a one-sided 60-0 loss to remain rooted to the bottom of Wadworth 6X Dorset & Wilts One South.

Bridport had it rough from the off when four players withdrew from the matchday squad, so started with 14 players and veteran front rowers Brett Chant and Tony Herbert, normally very experienced subs, played for the whole game.

As usual they provided a very substantive effort to a dominant pack but as expected the team were overwhelmed going down by a big 60-0 margin.

However, despite the scoreline, the whole team put in a magnificent defensive shift against a strong running side in atrocious weather conditions especially in the second half.

It would have been very easy for the team to just lie down but instead every player put himself on the line to prevent what could have easily have been a far bigger defeat.

It was only in the last 10 minutes when the Blues went down to 13, due to an injury to Mark Follet, that Sherborne ran in two converted tries to take the score past 50.

Sherborne scored five tries in each half but they did not have their own way in the set pieces.

A strong wind made lineouts a bit of a lottery, but in the scrum the Blues dominated, driving the Sherborne scrum back twice from their own put-in.

The Blues did not have the penetration in the backs to seriously threaten when in the Sherborne 22 and had no real clear-cut chances to get on the scoresheet.

The team should take heart from this collective effort and be ready for the bottom-of-the-table clash against Salisbury Seconds at the Brewery Ground on Saturday, December 15.

That clash with the Wiltshire side is billed as a crucial game for the Blues as a win will take them off the bottom of the league going into the festive break and the second half of the season.

Bridport currently sit three points behind rivals Salisbury, who have eight points and occupy tenth position in the standings.