If ever proof was required that, in this modern age of professionalism, Coarse Rugby still exists. Salisbury travelled to their Dorset rivals with a kitbag containing the Colts, otherwise known as the Under 18s, shirts, a situation more distressing to some of the forwards than the backs and a series of frantic phone calls were unable to locate the correctly fitting items.

Sherborne may have been chuckling at this misfortune, but it then transpired that they had no shirts; their kit, apparently held to ransom by the local launderette, had not been washed.

Negotiations ensued, and Sherborne took the pitch, albeit somewhat muddy and smelling damp.

Salisbury were buoyed not only by the return of skipper Bobby Brown but also by the large travelling support who had been sampling the wares in the local market town. Spirits among these supporters were dampened somewhat, but not as much as the home kit, when the pitchside bar ran out of consumables shortly before kick-off, giving the bartender plenty of time to finish his crossword.

The game kicked off under warm autumnal sun, and Salisbury were not short of effort, but from a set piece, Sherborne switched the ball left and scored on the overlap with worrying ease through Cawley Maynard, William Lethbridge adding the conversion.

The visitors then enjoyed a good period of pressure, but a lack of accuracy saw them unable to finish off some good approach work. With half-time fast approaching, Skipper Brown, already at the forefront of many charges, forced his way over for a score before being immediately replaced for a breather. Ollie Bate slotted the conversion, and the sides turned around level.

Bate took advantage of a Sherborne misdemeanour straight after the break, and his metronomic boot gave the visitors the lead. The home side rallied and scored a try from Brad Mullholland, converted by Marcus Heath.

Salisbury were not finished, and a rash of “finishers” entering the fray led to a period of sustained pressure before Sam Goldsmith emerged from a pile of bodies, triumphant with ball in hand; a difficult conversion attempt for Bate drifted agonizingly close to the uprights.

With the game into the last ten minutes and the result in the balance, Bate added a further penalty to give the Cathedral city side a narrow 14-18 lead. A technical infringement saw Salisbury a man down for the last few minutes, and Sherborne produced one last cohesive move for the Mullholland and Heath combination to save the game with a converted try.

A good, tough game of rugby and Salisbury will find plenty of positives to take from it, but must use the next fortnight to gird their loins for the visit of table-topping Walcot.

See here for a selection of photos from Clive Barnwell

Report: Neil Tonge
Photos: Clive Barnwell