Salisbury continued their impressive start to the Counties 1 Tribute Ale Southern South league campaign with a convincing victory over Wiltshire rivals Trowbridge’s 2nd XV at Castle Road on Saturday, securing their third successive bonus-point win.

The 55 - 15 win was particularly satisfying given the testing conditions, with a strong, blustery wind making handling difficult and turning the kicking game into something of a lottery. Salisbury fly-half Reuben Smith opened the scoring with a penalty after 10 minutes before scrum-half Jacques Kinnison collected the ball from a maul close to the right touchline and raced over for the home side’s first try. Despite the distance and an opposing wind, Smith added the conversion to give Salisbury a 10 - 0 advantage.
After a relatively quiet spell, Trowbridge responded with a converted try to reduce the deficit. Salisbury hit back quickly when winger Theo André Browning crossed for their second try. Trowbridge finished the first half with a penalty, leaving Salisbury holding a 15 - 10 lead at the break.

The home side made an emphatic start to the second half. Debutant winger Pita Moku sprinted in for a try between the posts, which Smith converted, before Moku crossed again soon afterwards to extend their lead to 29 - 10.

Trowbridge refused to surrender, their fly-half exploiting gaps in the Salisbury defence to score an impressive individual try. It proved to be their final contribution to the scoring as Salisbury took control of the contest. A key factor was Salisbury’s growing dominance in the scrum. With the pack gaining the upper hand, the home side established a platform from which their backs could attack with greater freedom, moving the ball effectively and putting the visitors under sustained pressure.

Flanker Cameron Mould scored a converted try before Moku crossed for his third of the afternoon. Skipper Bobby Brown and replacement scrum-half Aaron Hold added two further tries. Smith added three further conversions as Salisbury finished with a convincing 55 points, 40 coming in the second half.

The result underlined Salisbury’s attacking potential, superior fitness and their ability to adapt to challenging conditions. Having started the season with comfortable victories over North Dorset and Swanage & Wareham, they have now made it three wins from three league matches, collecting a bonus point on each occasion. They top the league and will travel to Chippenham on Saturday where they will surely benefit from the perfect synthetic surface.

Joe Cooper
Pictures: John Palmer