ROYAL Wootton Bassett head coach Alan Low is seeing his team develop before his eyes after watching his side adapt to difficult conditions against Southern Counties South leaders Midsomer Norton.

Having seen Bassett fall to a defeat against Sherborne in wet and windy conditions in their previous outing, Low was pleased to see his young side learn from that experience to record a 12-6 win at Ballards Ash.

Tries from Phil Bardwell and Liam Rowe secured the win as the defence put up a resilient performance, conceding just two penalties.

“It was a much-improved performance,” said Low. “The weather conditions were absolutely horrendous again and it was almost identical to the Sherborne game.

“It just showed what we should have played like against Sherborne. We controlled the game a lot better and got into the right areas, which made a big difference.

“They came at us really hard up front again and the guys showed some really good character and we held them out. They came away with two penalties which, given the possession they had, was testament to the way we defended.

“We are learning all the time. That young back line is learning and understanding how to win a game now.

“Previously, we felt to win a game, you needed to do all the flashy things but that certainly isn’t always the case.

“Sometimes, putting the ball in the right areas and our game management will win us the game by itself.”

Bassett had gone three weeks without a competitive game and Low is now hoping to get some stability back to his side.

“The guys have been chomping at the bit to play,” he added. “We’ve just been inconsistent in what we have been doing and a lot of that has come from not playing week in, week out.

“We had a lot of new faces come in over the summer and you bed those partnerships in by playing regularly and we haven’t had that.

“Hopefully, partnerships are beginning to form and people have some confidence with the people around them.”