MAX Sparrow bagged a hat-trick of tries to help Minety consolidate their position near the top of the Dorset & Wilts 1 North table when they swept past Devizes 2nd 31-17 at home.

The home team raced into an nearly lead when scrum-half Sparrow claimed the first of his treble, converted by Jack Ward.

Despite losing centre Luke Radcliffe to injury, Minety continued to press and Sparrow scored his second try following a quick tap penalty near the visitors’ line.

Devizes hit back with a penalty and then a converted try before Dale Hicks crashed over the line for his maiden try for Minety after a fine move in the backs.

Minety extended their lead to 14 points when Gareth Graham picked up at the base of a scrum and touched down to seal the bonus point.

However, the home team were made to sweat when Devizes struck back with another converted try to leave the score at 24-17 in the dying minutes.

Minety refused to roll over, though, and wrapped up the win in the dying moments when Sparrow completed his hat-trick, diving over a ruck to score beneath the posts.

Minety coach Andy Ward said: “We made really hard work of that match and it certainly wasn’t our best performance this season. There were some good performances but we were so inconsistent.”

Hat-trick hero Sparrow added: “It was a job done, we’ve added a bonus point and we’re right on the heels of the league leaders.”