Royal Wootton Bassett completed the double over their title rivals with a dominant 40-7 victory over Old Centralians.

Bassett went on the attack and had an early boost when their forwards had the much heavier Centralians scrum in trouble at the very first scrum. Bassett continued to drive forward but Centralians were absorbing the pressure.

In the eighth minute an attacking scrum was disrupted by the Bassett pack and the ball was hurriedly shipped wide. A looping ball was intercepted by Bassett winger Henry Toomer well in his own half and he grabbed the interception racing the length of the field to score.

Midway through the half, Bassett attacked down the right and after being rebuffed for a few phases, the ball was spun wide. Second-row Joe Pettit had been lurking and rounded the initial defence before passing to full-back Charlie Brook who raced over. Troy Cusack converted and Bassett led 14-0.

Although Centralians had some decent possession they never looked like piercing the mean Bassett defence. With the last move of the half Toomer outpaced the Centralians' defence again for his second and Bassett led 21-0 at the break.

Centralians had never looked like giving up and came out of the blocks fast. A sequence of drives and a couple of scrums provided fast ball and one of the Gloucester centres took the ball at a great angle to score under the posts.

Bassett now moved up a gear camping on the Centralians line. A fourth successive scrum in as many minutes saw Bassett scrum half John Fruci-Jewell pounce on a fumble by the visitors to pick up and dive over to secure the fourth try bonus point.

They continued to press and the hugely impressive Pettit made an outrageous show of the ball ghosting through the defence. Cusack converted and Bassett now held an unassailable 33-7 lead.

As the game entered the final minutes Bassett were switching the ball from left to right. A neat kick across the field saw the ball bobble about and winger Ethan Stock pounced for the final try.

Bassett will go into the Christmas break with a deserved and healthy lead at the top of the division. However, they will be well aware that games aren’t won at halftime and will again need to be in good form in the New Year with the first-ever visit of Somerset club Winscombe, a side who are far better than their current league position suggests.