25 October 2008

Marlborough 1st XV 41 - 0 Sutton Benger 1st XV

Sutton Bengers promotion from Dorset and Wilts 2 North reunited them with Marlborough, a club they had competed with two years previously. Benger started brightly with plenty of possession and playing against the wind found themselves with good territory in the Marlborough half. Marlborough started to dominate the tackle area and found success in turning over procession in the ruck situations. This gave them an attacking platform which they exploited; moving the ball well to the wings to score two first half tries in the corner. With the score at 12-0 Benger fought hard to contain some powerful Marlborough runners and stay in contention. Mark Carter and Matt Rea were again tireless in defence for the away side and were backed up by a Benger pack which again dominated the scrums. The score remained 12-0 until 20 minutes from time when the pressure from the home side took its toll. A tiring Benger side struggled for defensive organisation in broken play and Marlborough took advantage of numerous overlaps on the wing to increase their score. A number eight drive off a five metre scrum concluded the scoring in a comfortable 41-0 victory for the home side.           

Despite the loss, the result leaves Sutton Benger in the middle of the D&W 1 North table with three wins from six games. Having started the season coach-less, Sutton Benger will be looking to climb the table under the guidance of newly selected coach Andy Sear, an appointment which has added to the positive attitude within the club.