Chippenham ground out a 10-0 home victory over Wiltshire rivals Salisbury in South West Division 2 East.

Head coach Rob Alford, though, was satisfied with their hard-fought win, and said: "Given the windy conditions, this was a good win for us.

"Our defence played well in the first half as Salisbury had plenty of possession.

"It was a tough game but it is these games that count."

The match was one of two halves with visitors Salisbury dominating for the first half.

From the outset, they took the game to Chippenham, and the home side found themselves on the back foot for long periods during the half.

Within minutes Salisbury had worked their way to the Chippenham line only to knock the ball on.

This gave skipper Rupert Crockett the chance to clear their line with a kick to touch.

Chippenham did manage to launch the occasional attack, but a great break by scrum-half Andy Williamson and Crockett was thwarted by Salisbury.

But these ventures into the Salisbury half were rare during the half and with the visitors retaining the upper hand, Chippenham could regard themselves lucky not to be behind at the half-time break.

The second half, though, was all Chippenham and they put their visitors under the cosh.

From the restart, Chippenham drove forward and applied pressure on the Salisbury line.

This pressure told and the deadlock was broken as front row man Jonathan Whiteman plunged over for a try, with scrum-half Williamson converting for a 7-0 lead.

It was Salisbury's turn to find themselves camped on their own line and an attempted drop goal by Chippenham was missed.

The home side were awarded several penalties during the half, none of which were converted as the blustery conditions played their part.

Chippenham also made several subsititons with Whiteman replaced by Jim Pratt, and John Gibbon replacing Gary Squires.

But despite the changes and continued pressure, Chippenham could not find their way through. In the last minutes, they were awared another penalty and Williamson made the game safe with a successful strike.

Alford added: "Considering we were not at full strength, the win is even more satisfying.

"I always felt confident that we could win. Salisbury were dominant in the first half but I felt we were never threatened in the second half."