MARLBOROUGH returned to winning ways in South West One East with a 45-22 success away at Oxford Harlequins, writes CHARLIE WEBB.

Quins kicked off and were soon on the back foot due to slick early play from Marlborough, with Jake Williams passing to Mitieli Vulikijapani, who ran the length of the pitch to score the first points of the game before Will Grant converted.

The second try came when Marlborough turned the ball over on halfway and Inosi Laqekoro stretched his legs to sail past the retreating defenders and make it 12-0 after 10 minutes.

Marlborough were then lucky not to give away their first points of the game when the Quins kicker missed a straightforward kick.

The hosts soon put that let-off behind them, though, and sharp passing allowed a wing to score a converted try in the corner.

The contest remained even, but midway through the half, Marlborough took a quick penalty and caught the Quins defence napping to send captain Jamie Pittams over the line, with Grant again converting.

Quins’ 4G pitch was causing some strange bounces and one such instance saw the home side come back into the game as a ball was not picked up and Oxford scored a simple try.

They followed that up with another try when a sharp lineout tactic caught Marlborough out to cut the deficit to two points.

Right on half-time, Marlborough showed their attacking class and shifted the ball to Mitieli Vulikijapani, who wrong-footed the defence to score, with Grant’s kick making it 26-17 at the break.

The second half started at a ferocious pace and 10 minutes in, Marlborough won a 5m scrum and Jake Williams’ excellent pass allowed Avenai Cakaunitavuki to score a try, which was duly converted by Grant.

Viliame Waqanidrola was next to score a converted try as Quins began to look tired, although the home side were able to reply with another touchdown of their own with nine minutes remaining to make it 40-22.

Marlborough had the final say, though, as Joe Visei got his name on the scoresheet following a lineout, and although Grant’s kick went narrowly wide, the visitors’ were still worthy winners.

Elsewhere, Royal Wootton Bassett claimed a 33-22 win at home to county rivals Chippenham.

After surviving an early scare when Chippenham registered a try in the opening minutes following an interception in midfield, Bassett quickly recovered to open up a 10-point lead following a pair of quick tries and a penalty kick.

Chippenham added to their try tally to cut the hosts’ lead to three points before Chris Patterson scored the first of two tries for himself before the break to establish an eight-point lead.

Although Chippenham hit back with a penalty, Bassett put the game beyond the visitors’ reach when Alex Plows crossed the whitewash before a further penalty minutes before the final whistle wrapped up Bassett’s 11-point win.