Marlborough 22 – 15 Wimborne
Marlborough edged another tight encounter with a home win over Wimborne on a very windy day on the common.
The early phases saw the home team on top and using the windy conditions full back Nathan Morgan sent over a penalty. This was followed by a good line out win by Sam Gouldbourn to secure the ball and set up a driving maul. The ball found its way to Chris Budgen who directed his forwards on a 15 meter drive, before he dived over. Morgan narrowly missed the conversion. Marlborough had an 8-0 lead after 10 minutes.
Wimborne fought back and were next to score after some good passing. This made it 8-5. The only other score of the half came from Leo Tuliva after some good midfield passing and a through the legs pass from Budgen. Tuliva gathered the ball in his own half, ran outside 2 tackles before cutting inside another to score a great try. Morgan converted for a 15-5 half time score.
Wimborne had the slope for the second half and were immediate on the front foot. Pinning Marlborough deep in their half. They scored 2 tries and the game was even. The home team with some determined encouragement again stepped up their game. The scrum was on top and repeatedly winning penalties. A pick up by Tuliva led to the ball reaching centre Jamie Laing who showed good footwork for the game winning try. Morgan added the extras for a 22-15 win.
The Alfred’s Nomads were unfortunate to lose 28-33 to Supermarine after a last minute try. One feature of the game was the Beanland family having 3 brothers in the front row. Hugo, Bertie and Ben playing together for the first time for a true family moment.