DORCHESTER II 20 PUDDLETOWN 21

PUDDLETOWN breathed a huge sigh of relief as Dorchester missed a last-gasp conversion to snatch victory at Coburg Road.

The Dorset & Wilts Two South contest proved to be a very tight affair from the start, and the first half was a battle between the defences.

Both sides struggled to convert any possession into points until Puddletown broke the deadlock with a try that emanated from a line-out on the Dorchester five-metre line.

The home side won the ball but good counter-rucking from the visitors’ forwards won it back and centre Rocky Watts bundled through three tackles to dive over.

Just before the break, good pressure from the Dorchester pack resulted in Puddletown giving away a penalty and the lead was reduced to 5-3.

Dorchester came out strongly after the break and, when Puddle-town were penalised for having hands in a ruck, the home scrum-half took a quick tap penalty and drove. The try was converted and Dorchester now led 10-5.

Puddletown captain Tom Yeat-man took advantage of Dor-chester indiscretions and converted two penalties to put his side back in front.

A drive deep into Dorchester territory then resulted in prop Chris Haynes breaking through tackles and showing good pace.

However, he was brought down under the posts and the ball was knocked on in contact, allowing Dorchester to clear.

An incident off the ball saw the hosts’ second row receive a yellow card, and Puddletown capitalised on their numerical advantage.

Good interplay between backs and forwards resulted in Jez Michael-Beale going over in the corner to make it 16-10.

An almost identical passage of play, started with good work by Puddletown’s replacement flan-ker John Moise, brought a second try for Michael-Beale.

Dorchester, now back to full strength, were rattled by the Villagers’ scoring and good work by their forwards produced a try.

Knowing a converted try would win the game, Dorchester piled on the pressure as the clock ticked past 80 minutes, and, from a tap and drive, they duly crossed the whitewash.

The Dorchester kicker made a valiant effort to convert from the touchline but narrowly missed.