IT WAS ‘moral’ victory for Devizes head coach Stuart Hadden who was pleased with the character his side showed as they fell to a 21-0 loss to third-placed side Windsor.

The home side started strongly but it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the Saddlebacks when prop Toby Randall saw red after 10 minutes for a retaliation punch.

“I know we lost 21-0 but it was 7-0 to Windsor at half time and we had 65 per cent of possession and territorial advantage,” said Hadden.

“The spirit shown in the side was tremendous after the disappointing season so far with the injuries we’ve had and we felt we have been struggling right the way through.

“With a couple of players returning to the team Tom Collins, last year’s captain coming back on to the bench, we felt we were a match for Windsor.

“The second half we started the same way with 14 men putting pressure on but unfortunately we lost our hooker, Seb Hutchings, to a calf injury and because of the new laws we are not allowed to replace him because he is a front row player.

“So for the last quarter of the game we were reduced to 13 men.

“We still managed to have that passion and belief that they could get something out of the game and to be fair to the guys they stopped them getting the bonus point, which was tremendous.’’

Andy Thompson’s scoring pass to Jorge Wadman, after a Devizes break, went to ground to deny the hosts the opening score, but they continued to enjoy ascendancy in the scrummage.

However, that proved shortlived as Randall was sent off after a scuffle with a Windsor opponent.

The visitors got their breakthrough just before the half-time break with a successful chip and chase.

Windsor extended their advantage in the second half, after their number eight crashed over the line, before things got worse for the hosts as hooker Seb Hutchings went off with a calf injury and Hodden was unable to replace him.

Despite a third Windsor try Devizes showed immense character to prevent the visitors claiming the bonus point.

Hadden believes that the game could be the stepping stone for a revival.

He added: “I think we go into next week’s game, away at Bletchley, with heart after that.

“They played their hearts out which was fantastic to see and we felt it was a moral victory.”