MINETY suffered a second successive defeat in Dorset & Wilts One North, going down 15-0 at home to Trowbridge 2nd on Saturday.

The early signs were good for Minety as the new half-back combination of Garin Garland and Dave Cooke used their powerful forwards to push Trowbridge back.

Mark Glew was only stopped inches from the tryline, while Andrew Hibbard was on the end of another move that ended with a thumping tackle.

Having seen off the early pressure, Trowbridge opened the scoring when a missed tackle allowed them to slice through the Minety defence, with a converted try putting them 7-0 to the good.

For the second week running, an injury proved pivotal to the outcome of the game as Minety’s top scorer Garland suffering a dislocated shoulder after only 12 minutes.

However, the Minety pack once again proved dominant and Hibbard thought he had scored after picking up at the base of a scrum to dive for the line, only for the referee to pull play back.

In the final minute of the half, Trowbridge increased their lead with a penalty to take a 10-0 cushion into the change of ends.

The visitors started the second half strongly, but fearless tackling from Minety held them back, while Jack Howse was always a threat for the home side.

Trowbridge effectively settled the match with their second try as the Minety defence tried to re-organise after a few changes.

The conversion was charged down, but any hopes Minety had of a comeback slipped away in the rain.

There was also defeat for Sutton Benger as they lost 42-12 away at Warminster.

Benger got off to a slow start and found themselves 21-0 down inside 10 minutes.

The visiting players soon found their composure and were rewarded when a clever kick from Ollie Maher was chased by Sam Llewelyn, who benefited from a good bounce to dive over the tryline. Maher added the conversion.

While Benger had improved, the home side always posed a danger and soon scored a fourth try.

The visitors had the final word of the half, though, as a well-executed catch and drive from a lineout saw Carl Tibbetts drive over for a converted try to cut the gap to 28-12.

Benger continued to press Warminster after the break and camped in the home side’s 22, but were unable to convert this territory into points. Matt Baker went closest from a pick-and-go, only to be held up over the line.

Warminster finished the game strongly, though, and two more converted tries in the closing stages wrapped up a convincing win.

Elsewhere, Calne were crushed 57-0 at leaders Combe Down, while Pewsey Vale were beaten 36-5 away at Chippenham 2nd.