MARLBOROUGH conceded late to record a disappointing 10-10 draw away at struggling Grove in South West One East last weekend.

Marlborough travelled to Oxfordshire to face the side second bottom in South West One East hoping to add to their spate of recent heavy defeats, and buoyed by the knowledge that they had beaten their opponents 50-25 earlier this season.

The match started well for the visitors, with Solomone Aniseko scoring an unconverted try after just ten minutes following a strong line out, maul, and drive to cap a promising start to proceedings.

The conditions prevented Marlborough from pushing on and finding any sort of rhythm as they were playing into the wind during the first half, and were further disrupted by captain Ben Fulton being carried off with an ankle injury.

Their lead was eventually cut to two points on the stroke of half-time when Grove kicked a penalty to send the match into the break firmly in the balance.

The points before half-time spurred Grove on in the second half, as lenient refereeing allowed them to establish pressure, but it was Marlborough who struck first, as Inosi Laqekoro scored their second try on his return to the side, however it once again went unconverted as the ball struck the post.

It seemed like Marlborough may have been able to get away with their sloppy performance, but once again right at the end of the half Grove were able to score a try and converted it to snatch a late draw.

This result keeps Marlborough in eighth position three points behind Witney, following their victory over Newbury Blues.

Elsewhere in South West One East there was a commanding 34-17 win for Chippenham over Sherborne at Allington Fields, but Trowbridge suffered a narrow 24-20 loss away to third-bottom Buckingham.

Meanwhile, Royal Wootton Bassett remain two points adrift at the bottom of the South West Premier as they lost their eighth match in a row, 20-17 against Camborne.