SWINDON College hit the half century mark for the second match in succession as they dispatched Blandford 66-0 in the first round of the Dorset & Wilts Plate.

Martin Peaple’s side ran in 10 tries in total against their hapless opponents from Dorset & Wilts One South to underline their recent reversal in fortunes.

Full back Scott Buchanan enjoyed an outstanding game, scoring two tries and converting eight.

After watching his men produce their most “complete” performance of the season to date, Peaple believes College may have finally turned the corner.

He said: “This was a very good performance against a team on the same level of the rugby pyramid.

“We did not expect to win by such a big margin, but everyone stuck to their task.

“The most pleasing aspect was the way we played in the second half.

“We’ve had a nasty habit of throwing away big leads, but this time we actually increased our advantage.

“To stop Blandford scoring was also a big bonus. It was a good day all round.”

College raced into an early 7-0 lead when Buchanan converted his own score beneath the posts.

Inside centre Shane Criddle then touched down before Dries Van Wyk added a third try after 30 minutes. Buchanan’s conversion made it 19-0 at half-time.

College pressed home their advantage after the break, with wing Angus Wilson rounding his marker to score.

And when Greig O’Brien’s try was again converted by Buchanan, there was no way back for Blandford.

Woody Briggs got his name on the scoresheet with a typically robust effort from five yards out, and further scores from Criddle and Buchanan made it 52-0.

Ben Robinson and O’Brien rounded off the rout as Blandford were finally put out of their misery by a premature final whistle.

“We didn’t play the full 80 minutes, but I think Blandford were thankful for that,” said Peaple.

“From our point of view it was another victory, and that’s very important.

“A lot of teams had the weekend off, but we got a game and another win under our belts.

“If we can carry that form into the league next week, we can start to move away from the bottom end of the table.”

In the Dorset & Wilts Vase, Minety will face Bridport in the quarter final after both sides received walkovers at the weekend.