IT was a performance to be proud of for Supermarine head coach Nigel Hire after his side held on for a 22-13 win at home to Royal Wootton Bassett 2nd.

A try in either half from Mike Baptiste and Peter Kewell put Marine in a strong position going into the final 15 minutes of the game, with George Russ kicking four penalties.

However, Bassett came back strong in the dying minutes, scoring two tries of their own, but a late penalty from the boot of Russ put the result beyond doubt.

Having been narrowly defeated by Chippenham 2nd on the opening day of the Dorset & Wilts One North season, followed by a loss away to early pace-setters Corsham, Hire admitted he was anxious heading into another tough game but was pleased with the application of his side.

“You do start to worry a little,” he said, with the only blot on the afternoon coming when his son, Owain, was taken to hospital with a broken ankle, while Kewell also suffered a broken finger.

“We had quite a tough opening fixture list and we knew the first three games would test us.

“It was more about getting a performance, as much as anything else, because we didn’t really perform very well in the first two games.

“The performance was fantastic on Saturday and I couldn’t fault anybody.

“A win is a win but, more importantly from our point of view, we played really well for 65 minutes.

“We were 19-3 up and playing some really nice rugby and doing all the things we wanted to do.

“Bassett are a good side but we defended well and battled at the breakdown and generally we looked quite effective on the ball.

“We sort of let them back into the game and they came on strong at the end but we managed to hang on at the end.”

Meanwhile in the Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier, Swindon College Old Boys continued their fine start with a win away to Tadley.

Eoin Crean ran in a hat-trick of tries for the visitors to add to efforts from Liam Davies and Michael Calvert as College came back from 25-5 down.

“No way did I think we were going to score 30-odd points in 30 minutes,” said director of rugby Martin Lloyd.

“The guys on the pitch had different ideas and showed great character.

“It was one of the most amazing games I have ever witnessed and for a coach, it was a killer.”