ROYAL Wootton Bassett continued their excellent start to the South West One East season with a narrow 24-21 win at Old Patesians.

A tough first half in Cheltenham meant Alan Low’s side went into the break holding a narrow 17-14 lead with Kyle Lovell and Simon Anderton crossing the try line and David Hogg providing seven points with the boot.

The second half was a different affair, despite the visitors playing against the slope, as veteran Tim Gallimore ensured Bassett’s defence held firm despite pressure from the hosts.

However, it was Elye Darragh who went over under the posts, taking two defenders with him and securing the four-try point bonus while winger Ieuan Clements slotted the conversion with no trouble.

The Old Pats' scrum began to look menacing as it drove Bassett back and with 15 minutes to go the hosts’ pushover try and conversion reduced Bassett’s lead to 24-21 but the visitors held on Low continues to be surprised by his players’ efforts, but acknowledges there is still a long way to go this term.

“It was another good win, I was pretty surprised but the boys did another good job, it was amazing,” said the Bassett head coach.

“We were under no illusions how hard it was going to be, we said go out and test the water in this league.

“We are a bit of an unknown quantity. Maybe teams take their foot off the gas and relax because we are new to the league.”

Low was pleased with how his team rallied together to fight off late pressure, ensuring they came away from Everest Road with the win.

“The pleasing thing from Saturday was a huge second-half performance on a slope,” he added.

“They came off and they felt we were a little bit flat in the first half even though we scored three tries, our defence let us down.

“We were a little complacent since getting an early score but now they’re starting to look at themselves with a bit of a critical eye.

“It was really pleasing the character they’ve shown, to play a very abrasive game and perform.”

Low’s troops will host bottom of the table Oxford Harlequins this coming weekend.

Meanwhile, Swindon lost 49-14 at Old Centralians, and will now host Old Pats on Saturday.