MARLBOROUGH resumed their South West One East campaign with a 38-33 defeat at home to Wiltshire rivals Trowbridge last weekend.

The visitors began on the front foot and scored an unconverted try inside two minutes. Having been woken up by the early score, Marlborough immediately responded and took the lead when scrum-half Jake Williams converted his own break.

The first-half scoring continued when Trowbridge re-took the lead with a converted try before adding five more points shortly after.

In a game that Marlborough rarely got a handle on, the hosts’ Kane Marafono dotted down to reduce the deficit only to see Trowbridge notch another converted try before the break.

The Common outfit was able to show Trowbridge what they are capable of in the moments prior to half-time when Jimmy Adams beat the visitors’ last two defenders before crossing the whitewash to give Marlborough a 26-25 lead.

Marlborough could not hold onto their advantage until half-time though, with Trowbridge splitting the posts with a penalty in the 41st minute.

The seesaw nature of the contest continued after the break when Williams crossed for his second try of the game. The scrum-half faked a pass outside before spotting a gap and sprinting through the Trowbridge defence.

Marlborough were unable to add any further points as Trowbridge took advantage of any and all errors by the hosts. Two more unconverted tries saw Trowbridge home by five as Marlborough slipped to 10th in the table.

Elsewhere in South West One East, Chippenham lost 13-9 at home to Bracknell as the club’s search for a first win of the season continues into an eighth game.

In South West Premier, Royal Wootton Bassett suffered a high-scoring 56-31 defeat to Ivybridge.

Meanwhile, in Southern Counties South, Devizes maintained their 100 per cent start to the season with a crushing 40-14 win away at Avonvale, and Corsham lost 42-19 away at Combe Down.