A match the home side did everything in but win, and with John Bowden having an off day with the boot it was always going to be tough. As usual the Dorchester curse struck and they found themselves 7-0 down after 3 minutes, somehow the players need to ensure they are switched on before the game starts! A John Bowden penalty after 12 minutes reduced the arrears.

With Dorchester having to commit to too many one up tackles the defence was always going to be stretched and so it was that Bournemouth ran in their second try of the first half which went unconverted and the visitors took a  12-3 lead into the break.

A pep talk at half time by Lead Coach Steve Underhill seemed to have done the trick and Dorchester started the brighter, and with the ball going through the hands quickly they were at last using the pace of Sam Scott and Kieran Fry to great effect, and it was Scott who got the all important touch down after evading several Bournemouth players score 8-12.

Minutes later Josh Perry produced a great show and go and over for Dorchester to take the lead 13-12. Bournemouth were starting to show signs of pressure and repeated infringements at the breakdown saw the referee lose patience and yellow card the Bournemouth open side. Being a man down didn’t affect them and against the run of play came back and scored a converted try.

With the minutes ticking by Dorchester camped out in the Bournemouth 22, phase after phase saw valuable ground gained and finally replacement second row Ben Lashmar get the touch down, unfortunately the kick drifted wide. The final minutes were competed for in the centre of the pitch with no further scores.

A losing bonus point is scant reward for such a committed display, the players now know what is required of them.