ROYAL Wootton Bassett head coach Alan Low rues his side’s missed opportunities as they succumbed to a 47-13 away defeat at the hands of Chippenham.

Despite falling behind early on, the visitors where able to hold a slender 6-5 lead going into the second-half thanks to two penalties from winger Ieuan Clements.

However the first half would prove costly as Ashley Stephens, Simon Anderton and Josh McCafferty were all substituted with injury in the first 20 minutes of the game.

In the second half the hosts hit Low’s side with a quick-fire double as Tom Fieldsend's try counted as nothing more than a consolation.

While Low admits he can’t fault the commitment of his players, he believes it would have been a different game if they made the most of their first-half chances.

“We were really disappointed with the result. It was a Jekyll & Hyde performance from us,” said the Bassett boss.

“Chippenham got out of the blocks really well. They had a nice quick start but we were similar to the week before where we built into the game.

“We butchered two other scores in the first half which would have seen us go into the second half 15 or 20 points better off.

“It would have set a slightly different tone to the second half. Our second-half performance was one to put behind us.’’

With no substitutes left to bring into the game, Low admits it was always going to be an uphill struggle for his side, who tired in the second-half.

“They came at us really hard and got two quick scores, one after the other. That was the confidence boost they needed and they didn’t give up,” he added.

“We slowed down a bit in the second half. We had three injury replacements in the first 20 minutes of the game so we didn’t have any players to bring on.

“It did affect us. Chippenham got on top, they had some strong runners and I can’t fault the effort of our players."

The result leaves them eighth in the South West One East standings, as they prepare to host Grove at the weekend.