ROYAL Wootton Bassett made it 12 wins in a row when they sunk Alchester 41-5 at Ballard’s Ash at the weekend.

Alan Low’s side had been riding on the crest of the wave going into the game with the Southern Counties North strugglers.

And while they are the division’s form team, the Bassett director of rugby has played down their promotion hopes.

But their win over Alchester came at a cost as the hosts finished the game with only 14 players due to several injuries sustained in the 80 minutes.

Bassett came flying out of the blocks against the Oxfordshire side and claimed their bonus point try within the opening 20 minutes.

However, that is when things started to get tough for Bassett, according to Low.

“We were disrupted with our organisation and we had to move a couple of backs into the pack,” Low said.

“Things got rearranged, but I thought that we did OK - it could have been better, we had a hard day at the office with all the changes that we had.

“We knew that they would compete but we expected them to fade around the 50-60 minute mark, so you have to give them credit as they worked until the end.”

Low was forced to bring Gary Champion out of his midfield to pack down in the back row, while at the coalface both Gary Williams and Reuben Brown went off injured, alongside winger Hamish Keith.

Bassett also saw hooker Phil Bardwell require a trip to hospital following an eye injury.

“This was another good performance for us to build on going into the final few weeks of the season,” Low added. “So all-in-all given what went on, the performance and effort from the boys was pleasing.”

The Bassett chief was also full of praise for the club’s second team after they wrapped up the Dorset and Wilts Two North title with three games to spare.

The seconds’ 38-26 success at Bath Saracens was more than enough to secure the title.

And this weekend they face Bournemouth seconds in the Dorset and Wilts 2nd XV Cup final at Trowbridge RFC.