ROYAL Wootton Bassett’s hopes of clinching the Southern Counties South title hit a bump in the road on Saturday as Midsomer Norton were able to close the gap with a 5-3 victory.

Alan Low’s side saw their advantage at the summit reduced to six points, with Midsomer having a game in hand, after they failed to cross the whitewash in difficult conditions in Somerset.

Bassett took the lead through a first-half penalty but Norton hit back with an unconverted try.

Low’s side thought they had re-taken the lead before the break but the referee deemed the ball was held up over the line and a pointless second half condemned Bassett to a first defeat in twelve.

“We’re still at the top of the league with a six-point advantage and the ball is still in our court,” said Low.

“It was kind of what we were expecting, a real tough day up front up there.

“The conditions were absolutely horrendous. It was gale force wind going across the pitch from side-to-side, and you couldn’t distinguish between the players after 25 minutes.

“It was tough. When we looked at how we managed and played the conditions, of the two sides, they played the conditions better.

“It was a complete leveller. We had the wind in the first half and we got a penalty on the board and they had a try. About 10 minutes before half-time, from where I was, we had a driven maul and a clear score.

“The referee got himself positioned on the wrong side of the maul and he couldn’t see it, so he gave a scrum, which is the right decision from him.

“In the second half, our defence, against the elements, was absolutely unbelievable.

“It was a really good effort from the boys. Not too many come out of there with losing bonus points and we feel we could have come away with a lot more.”