DEVIZES avenged their earlier 36-30 defeat at the hands of Bath side Walcot as they boosted their hopes of a top two finish in Southern Counties South.

In poor conditions, the Saddlebacks grabbed the lead when a bullocking run from Josh Gould took him over the line, skipper Andy Thompson adding the conversion.

Thompson added a penalty as the visitors continued to pin Walcot back and a second try of the day followed after runs from props Tom Reed and Toby Randall released Gould another try and the back row man then showed some nifty footwork to accelerate over the line, Thompson's conversion taking them into a 22-0 lead.

Devizes lost Rory Brown to a head injury in the second half, Chris Barter coming on as both sides got bogged down in the tricky conditions.

An interception allowed Walcot to get on the board with a converted try but their hopes of a comeback were shortlived as Thompson booted a further penalty as Dan Rose cme on to make his first team debut.

Thompson said: “It was a good win up at Walcot, the lads played well in appalling conditions.

"We dominated the scrums and the pack carried well, especially Josh (Gould), Reedy (Tom Reed) and (Toby) Randall.

"It was good to see Tom Collins and Luke Rapson also getting back to fitness – we’ve missed them at times when they have been out injured.

"In recent weeks the passion and commitment from the squad and the younger lads in the team has pulled us through in some tough matches against some good sides like Marlborough and Keynsham.

"Southern Counties is a really tough league this year - much tougher than we probably thought it would be, however in terms of performance levels, we are getting there and hope to finish the season strongly.''