Wootton Bassett spent most of Saturday’s South West One East encounter with Bletchley battering their opponents’ defensive door.

But, in a frustrating adhesion to routine, the visitors left the field empty-handed after a 12-8 defeat.

Despite taking the lead through Dan McCarthy within the first 10 minutes, and holding a narrow, single-point advantage at the break, Bassett let Bletchley squeeze through to touch down early in the second period and from thereonin could not find the end product to re-establish themselves against inferior opposition.

Vice-captain Johnny Clarke spoke for the entire squad when he aired his irritation post-match.

He said: “We played all the rugby and spent most of the second half pounding against their line.

“They were just big lumpy boys up front. The didn’t fire it about and kept it in the pack.

“We played quick, high-tempo rugby with width and expansive ideas, and the result was really frustrating.”

The Stoneover Lane side dropped the ball over the Bletchley whitewash in the second half as they began to dominate their hosts, a situation which Clarke was pleased to find his side in.

“We’ve played pretty well at home,” he grinned.

“But this time we were outplaying our opponents on the road.

“So, in that respect, it’s another step in the right direction.”

As much as Clarke was thrilled to witness his side in the ascendancy for a sustained period, he lamented Bassett’s lack of proficiency in the final third.

“We got people into spaces, making breaks and making good yards,” he said.

“But we got to the final play and it got slow and allowed their defence to re-organise.

“We had no composure.”

Nevertheless, the performance was full of pluses for the side who continue to prop up South West One East.

And, although the phrase ‘finding the positives’ is becoming an all-too-familiar tag to the Wootton Bassett story this season, there is no doubt that the squad, with more and more faces returning to the fray, are finding their feet.

“We have people back and they are making a difference,” sparked Clarke, who remains in buoyant mood despite his side’s precarious position.

“We know now that we can compete in this division.

“It is hard to look back over the game and think we should have won that.

“But we are making progress and it’s onwards and upwards to the next game against Salisbury.

“It’s another one we know we can go and win.”

  • Wootton Bassett’s second team were on the end of an 83-7 thrashing at the weekend.

Chippenham 2nd were the executioners in a feast of tries leaving Bassett to continue to look for their first points of the season in Dorset and Wilts One North.

Like their first team counterparts, the Stoneover Lane gang have failed to make an impression on the points column in the league table yet this term.

Five games into the season, the side find themselves propping up the roster as the campaign comes out of its infancy.