Dorset & Wilts Div 2 North.

Supermarine II 12 Fairford 26.

A DETERMINED Fairford team battled from behind to claim bragging rights in a fiery local derby.

From the kick-off Fairford struggled to cope with Supermarine's strong runners and conceded an early try.

The away side regrouped and hammered the home team's end with their strong line-out drives. Once play became broken, it allowed fly half Matt Boulton to beat his man on the outside and dive over out wide.

Fairford's concentration dropped and they were sucked in from the Supermarine line-out, allowing the opposition to score from close range.

The Badgers reacted by producing some very good rugby in the opposition 22, but they proved unable to score apart from a Ben Goodey penalty before the break.

The visitors changed gear in the second half and the gulf in class became evident. Fairford started by playing territory, using their superior line-out to maul through the Marine pack, which allowed captain Rich Lewis to cross the line.

The game boiled over and a minor skirmish left both teams with 14 men.

League leaders Fairford used the extra space well and excellent handling from the backs sent the ball out wide where Gav Wedlake raced over the line to score.

From that point Fairford had control of the game. Once again they used their driving maul to leave the Marine defence in tatters, allowing Boulton to gain his second try of the day, before they sealed the victory late on with another Goodey penalty.

A FAIRFORD 2nd XV were in action once again, scoring six tries but losing narrowly 34-30 at Tetbury. Tries came from MoM John Moaby, Mike Cutler (2), Max Smith, Simon Waite and Matt Hunt.