ROYAL Wootton Bassett continued their unbeaten start to the year as they completed a convincing 38-7 win over Wimborne.

With second-placed Midsomer Norton falling to a 19-0 defeat away to Marlborough, Alan Low’s side were able to extend their advantage at the top of Southern Counties South to seven points.

Bassett ran in six tries on the afternoon to extend their winning run to eight games, with their last defeat coming back in October.

“It was a cracking weekend all round for the seniors,” said Low, with Bassett’s second XV beating Swindon and their third XV coming from 17 points down to beat Alfred’s Nomads.

“We had a big Vice Presidents’ Day and our performances on VP days in the past have not been the best, so we had a laugh about that, which took a little bit of pressure off the boys.

“They got out and scored an early try and then took a while to get into the swing of things.

“We really enjoyed ourselves and then to get the news five minutes after kick-off that Marlborough had beaten Midsomer Norton as well was a biggie.

“We’ve maintained all along that we need to concentrate on what we do.

“The two games at the start of the season (defeats to North Dorset and Sherborne) really put pressure on us but we have got to a point now where the boys have done enough learning to get over those barriers and even if we’re not getting a great performance,then we are still coming out with a result.

“The league now is one of those things. If we keep going week on week and getting the performances right and picking up the bonus points, then we should be in a decent place come the end of the year.

“However, there is still a hell of a long time to go.”

Bassett’s early pressure told 10 minutes in when captain Tim Gallimore went over for the opening score, which was added to by Gary Williamson and Kyle Lovell to give Bassett a good half-time advantage.

Second-half tries from Ashley Stephens, Tim Tamani and Gavin Ougan completed the scoring, with David Hogg converting four of the six tries.

n ROYAL Wootton Bassett’s Under 18 A side travelled to Bournemouth and ran in nine tries without reply to secure a 57-0 win to remain top of the Dorset & Wilts Merit Premier League table.

An Elye Darragh brace was added to by tries from Dan Sweeney, Harry Russ, William Fieldsend, Tom Davies and Jake O’Neill.

Meanwhile, Bassett Under 18 B ran out 30-0 winners over Supermarine to stay top of Dorset & Wilts North East Merit Table.