SHERBORNE II 36

WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND 29

WEYMOUTH & Portland suffered their second Wadworth 6X Dorset & Wilts One South loss of the season with a narrow 36-29 reverse at Sherborne Seconds.

So close were the Seahorses to avoiding defeat, the visitors were awarded a bonus point along with an extra point for their four-try display.

Defeat had not seemed on the cards following a blistering start from Rich Bament’s men.

Outside-centre Reece Makin notched Weymouth & Portland’s first try in the second minute with Alex Toms missing the conversion.

Three minutes later, winger Norton Rogers flew over following excellent work from Craig Barter and Luke Benyon, with Toms converting for a 12-0 advantage.

Sherborne began to work their way into the game and duly profited with two similar tries based on their backs stretching the visitors’ defence out wide.

Sherborne’s speed in defence caused the Seahorses problems and a subsequent mistake allowed Sherborne to canter through for a third try and a 17-12 lead.

With time ticking down in the first half, prop Tim Comben bulldozed his way past the attentions of three Sherborne players to score a converted try for a slender 19-17 lead at the break.

After the restart, Sherborne profited from numerous missed tackles to claim a fourth try.

Sherborne then ran in a fifth in controversial circumstances – the Seahorses having stopped after what they perceived to be a forward pass in the build-up.

Weymouth & Portland proved resilient with number eight Andy Bowditch rampaging over near the post for the away side’s fourth score.

Toms slotted home a penalty to bring the Seahorses to within two points, only for Sherborne to power over for an unconverted sixth try late on, securing the victory.

Speaking to Echosport, Bament rued costly errors during the loss.

He said: “It was a very good game to watch, actually. We made far too many errors, that’s what ultimately cost us.

“A couple of times we got our exit strategies wrong in problem areas. Two mistakes led to tries directly.

“When we strung it all together we scored some lovely tries but mistakes at critical times cost us.”