DORCHESTER travel the short distance to Yeovil for tomorrow’s Counties 1 Tribute Southern South League fixture.

The county town side’s last match of 2023 could prove to be a must-win game for them as they seek to halt their run of six defeats on the bounce. Kick-off at Church Lane is 2pm.

The home side sit one place from the foot of the table as opposed to Dorchester’s eighth place, and have only picked up one win, against Corsham, in what has proved to be a rebuilding season for them.

Both sides will know a win would be a huge boost to the squad’s morale as the season moves into the second half, with no room for any further slip ups.

Dorchester’s coaching team will be looking for a solid performance with effort and concentration for the full eighty minutes, along with a well-executed game plan.

Still struggling with an increasing injury list, captain Steve Tucker looks to be out for some time following his ankle injury.

Director of rugby Martin Oxland will need to dig deep into the senior squad to put his strongest XV on the pitch.

Jack Hayward should again lead the team in Tucker’s absence, but with a number of regular starters unavailable he may well lead out an unfamiliar looking side.

Henry Quinney should again force his way into the squad, and with Tom Louch unavailable it could pave the way for Chris Elliott to return to the 1st XV squad. Jamie Morgan and Cohen Emery could both prove themselves important try scorers in the squad yet again, and the experience from Dave Cottell and Tom Gower could help encourage the side to grind in a winning performance.

With only two weekends off over the festive period, Dorchester come straight back into league action on Saturday, January 6 at Surcouf Park against bottom placed Avonvale.