ROYAL Wootton Bassett scored their first victory of the calendar year with a convincing 39-25 victory over Launceston on Saturday.

Known as the “Cornish All Blacks”, Launceston were supposed to provide Bassett with a stern test on home soil, but the Wiltshire outfit stunned their mid-table opposition to give their South West Premier survival hopes a massive boost.

Bassett were out of the blocks smartly and promptly took the lead inside the first minute, full-back Tom Fieldsend slotted a penalty after Launceston were caught offside.

With only the second dangerous attack of the match, the ball came to flying winger Dan Hale who outpaced the defence to score under the posts. Fieldsend converted for Bassett to lead 10-0.

In the 16th minute, a reckless long throw in the Bassett 22 saw Fieldsend intercept and win the foot race, scampering the length of the field to score under the posts. His conversion meant Bassett led 17-0 and the Cornish All Blacks looked stunned.

A midfield battle then ensued as Launceston added a penalty. But Bassett continued to dominate, and Fieldsend ghosted over the line once again with the Launceston defence exposed. His conversion left Bassett in charge at 24-3.

With the half drawing to a close, pressure from Bassett’s forwards allowed winger Scott Douglas to race over in the corner and put the hosts 29-3 up at the half.

Unsurprisingly, Launceston started well after the break, but Bassett absorbed this pressure and extended their lead in the 53rd minute following another penalty from Fieldsend.

The hosts were then immediately caught out when Launceston struck back. A well-worked move produced a simple overlap and Launceston were able to touch down before adding a simple conversion.

A good period of Launceston forward pressure saw a visiting prop drive over in the corner to reduce the deficit to 32-15 with fifteen minutes left.

In the 74th minute, Launceston were caught out chasing the game. A terrible loose pass was pounced on by Hale who raced into the sunset and touched down under the posts for the Wiltshire outfit’s final points of the day.

As the match drifted into added time, Launceston started to throw the ball around in an attempt to add a try-scoring bonus point. In fact, the visitors were able to add two very late tries including with the last move of the match to at least take something back on the long journey home.

Elsewhere, in Southern Counties South, Swindon were awarded a home walkover against Avonvale. Swindon College Old Boys lost 24-40 to Wimborne.