WEYMOUTH & PORTLAND 66

AVONVALE 7

WEYMOUTH & Portland were left with a bittersweet outcome as their 66-7 victory over bottom side Avonvale failed to save them from relegation.

League officials have unusually opted to relegate the bottom three clubs in Counties One Tribute Southern South, with Weymouth finishing 10th of the 12 teams.

Their decision has been met with derision from a number of coaches in the league and has been forced after Salisbury and Devizes suffered Regional relegation.

The outcome took the shine off what had been a dominant victory for the Seahorses on the final day.

READ MORE: Weymouth & Portland 39-6 Yeovil - report

Dan Hayne and Reece Makin each scored tries in the first half, with James Baker adding a conversion for 12-0.

Jordan Gray crossed for the third, Baker adding the extras, before Avonvale grabbed what proved to be a consolation converted try before the break, trailing 19-7.

Avonvale were picking up injuries, though, and Rich Bament’s men had little trouble in storming to a 47-point haul in just 20 minutes of the second half.

Ralph Green, Baker and Dwayne Griffiths all crossed the whitewash with Baker converting the trio's tries.

Ryan Lewendon scored in the corner for 45-7 before a flurry of three tries, almost unopposed from kick-off, signalled an early end to the game after 60 minutes.

Makin, Joe Gibson and Baker all strolled over underneath the posts, allowing for three simple scores before the respective head coaches agreed to finish early with Avonvale’s squad creaking.

Talking to Echosport, Bament did not hide his disappointment at the relegation to a division the Seahorses comfortably won in 2022/23.

He said: “It’s been confirmed we’re relegated unfortunately. It’s due to Devizes and Salisbury being relegated, it’s an extra place to go out of the league we were in.

“Which is unfortunate. I think it’s a bit harsh, especially when you don’t know these things until the end of the season.

“There’s nothing we can do about it. I think we gave a good account of ourselves all through the season.

“Experience told in some games with teams when we put ourselves in good positions. We couldn’t close them out.

“It was a hard challenge for some of the guys because of the depth of the squad. We knew it would be hard some weeks but the guys stuck at it. I’m very disappointed for the players.”

After opting out of the cup competitions, Weymouth & Portland are now expected to go through a big rebuild with some players departing to avoid dropping down a division.

And others are hanging up their boots for good as former captain Dave Oaksford, forwards Ben Davies and Joe Gibson plus back Matt Savage are all retiring.

There are also major question marks over the future of fly-half James Baker, who needs an elbow operation and could also call time on his record-breaking career.