Dorset & Wilts Div 1 North.

Minety 41, Cricklade 5.

CRICKLADE competed well up front but had no answer to the pace of Minety’s three-quarters.

The visitors started well. Scrummaging powerfully and looking determined in the loose, they won more than their fair share of possession and ran positively whenever they had the chance.

But after 15 minutes, Minety centre Robin Greenway accelerated to halfway and his offload set winger Ryan Dowling charging up the left touchline for the first score of the game.

Cricklade responded immediately, whisking the ball down their three-quarter line before Pete Clements beat his tackler and sped in for a try which put the sides back on equal terms.

For the rest of the game, however, although their pack won a fair share of the ball, Cricklade were not able to do anything with it.

Tackling with intent, the outstanding Minety back row of David Hazell, Kuldeep Singh and Olivier Brassatt mopped up all their opponents’ efforts close to the scrum while, out wide, the Minety backs held a firm line.

And the difference was that, when Minety got a chance to run with the ball, they usually scored.

Dowling soon added a second try in the corner, and then fly half Tom Fitzcharles put in an impressive 70-metre dash to score a spectacular try up the slope. Dowling’s successful goal kick made it 17-5 at the break.

Dowling got the scoreboard going in the second half, too, running in a try to complete his hat-trick after Minety full back Reuben Saunders had burst into the three-quarter line to make the extra man.

Saunders himself ran in the next try, scooting 60 metres downhill to score.

David Hazell linked with his scrum half Andy Brown to pile over for a try from a five-metre scrum which Fitzcharles converted before the Minety three-quarters put the icing on the cake with a move which involved all the backs.

Picking up loose ball in Minety’s 22, Fitzcharles linked with his team-mates who moved the ball down the line to Dowling on the left touchline. With one man to beat, he delicately chipped the ball inside for Russell Barstow to run on to and score.

Barstow’s conversion of his own try made it a convincing 41-5 to Minety at the final whistle.