Chippenham began their campaign to return to South West One with a 28-24 win over title rivals Cheltenham.

It was not a great game for the large crowd of watching spectators but Chippenham got the start they wanted.

For coach Rob Alford, the result was all that mattered. He said: I told the boys before this game, that they must forget our non-existent pre-season preparations, what was important was today's game.'' Four players were making their first team debuts and all have come through the club's development squad.

Lee Audis at stand-off, Pete Rawson at left-wing, Stuart Gunn at flanker and Callum Waddell at full-back all played their part in the win.

The opening exchanges were tense and tempers flared after just minutes. But Chippenham settled and began to dominate possession and gain ground.

Against the run of play it was Cheltenham who put the first points on the board. The try coming from their left-winger Morris and the conversion added by stand-off Butler.

Chippenham upped the pressure and were rewarded with their opening try of the season. Centre David Spiers went over the line to score and Audis added the conversion to make it 7-7.

Cheltenham responded and their second try followed from right-winger Nicholls. The conversion was missed by Butler.

Although Audis kicked a penalty for Chippenham, Cheltenham broke through the middle with the final pass reaching Morris who touched down for his second try which Butler converted. Cheltenham had stretched their lead to 10-19 at half-time.

The second half started with Chippenham on the attack. Audis added two more penalty kicks to claw Chippenham back within three points of the visitors.

The decisive moment of the match came from a piece of magic from Audis. He put through a lovely kick over, chased it himself and touched down to score.

He got up to convert and open up a 23-16 lead.

Chippenham's third and final try of the match came from flanker John Boddington to further extend their lead at 28-19.

The home team then seemed to take their foot off the gas and Cheltenham took advantage to score a late consolation try from flanker Kristian Williams.

Skipper James Gaiger was positive about the performance.

He said: This was a good opening win. We were a bit rusty and it showed in our performance. But we will improve as the season progresses and we face tougher opposition.'' For coach Alford, the points were important but there is plenty to work on in training.

He said: We dominated possession territory but our decision-making and fitness let us down. I am pleased with the result but there are areas that we can build on.''