Wootton Bassett survive early scare to beat relegation rivals (From Swindon Advertiser)

Wootton Bassett survive early scare to beat relegation rivals

6:00am Wednesday 13th February 2013 in Rugby

WOOTTON Bassett survived an early scare to record a 34-10 victory away at Walcot in Southern Counties South.

The game between two clubs in the bottom four was a vital one for both sides, but things started in the worst possible way for Bassett as two players were sent to the sin bin early on by the strict referee.

But the visitors were not to be denied, and managed to score two tries despite being down to 13 men before continuing their dominance into the second half having already secured the bonus-point by the break.

Andy Phoenix scored twice and Billy Johnson, Tucker Blinkhorn and Hamish Keith were all amongst the tries, and skipper Dave Martin was pleased with how his side coped with depleted numbers in the early stages.

“The referee was pulling out cards and then asking questions later, and at one point we were down to 13 men inside the first 15 minutes, which was a real shock as the referee was putting his mark on the game,” he said.

“We were on the receiving end of that but still managed to score two tries, and we were able to overcome having two players missing.

“It was hard, but we kept working and we got our rewards.

“We managed to keep our structure together and we were adamant we would keep the ball, and that is exactly what we were able to do and we managed to get the win.

“If anything they were the better side when the play got a little loose, and that is when they scored a few of their points.

“But we tightened up again and managed to wrap up the bonus point by half-time.”

The win increases Bassett’s lead over Walcot in the league to nine points, and Martin is now starting to feel comfortable about his side’s position.

“It’s a really good boost for us, and it will give us a massive lift for the rest of our games this season,” he said.

“I think the win has put enough of a gap between us and them to not have to worry about relegation, and maybe we can start to feel safe.

“We have won our last two games now, and if we could make that three in a row next weekend against Weymouth that would be great for the club, and would show some real progress has been made.”