RUGBY: Fairford leave it too late against Melksham

Melksham 32 Fairford 10

FAIRFORD fell to their first defeat of the season against a well-drilled Melksham side.

Fairford defended well from the outset and just edged the opening exchanges. Melksham, however, controlled field possession and went ahead through a penalty before extending the lead with a try from a maul.

Fairford proved blunt in attack, playing in the wrong areas of the pitch and allowing the the Melksham back row to get their hands on the ball far too often.

This resulted in another try late on in the first half.

The second period became disjointed by a series of injuries. Fairford's poor kicking and narrow defence allowed Melksham far too much space and the visitors were punished by three further tries.

The final 20 minutes showed Fairford in a positive light, however, as their fitness shone through.

They played the better rugby in the final quarter but their two well-worked tries was a case of too little too late.

The first try came when wing Sam Baker drew the last man and left 'Taf' Braithwaite to run in unopposed from 40 metres.

The second was of real quality with good offloading from Luke Sawyer, Kenny Robins and Braithwaite again, drawing the defence so that Jack Irwin could bag his first try for the club in the corner.

Fairford entertain Swindon IIs this weekend as they host a sponsor's day for the unveiling of their new kit.