COACH Keith Tomes admitted an inflated error count had proved Swanage & Wareham’s downfall in their Dorset & Wilts Cup final defeat to Salisbury.

Swans were condemned to their first loss of the season as they were sunk 18-15 by their Southern Counties South rivals at Slaughtergate on Saturday.

The game was on a knife edge at 11-8 in the second half but an interception try from wing Tom Pottage – converted by the same man – dealt a telling blow.

Although Jesse Scott went over for a converted try late on, Tomes’s men ran out of time to turn matters round.

Tomes, who alongside assistants James Warren and Mark Woolley has steered Swans to nine league wins out of nine this campaign, admitted his team had come up short.

He told the Daily Echo: “It was a very disappointing result and there was a feeling afterwards that a chance had been missed.

“Salisbury came out with a game plan that they adhered to and we made a few too many mistakes. Line-outs were a bit of problem for us and we didn’t keep possession for long enough to build momentum.

“There were a couple of missed kicks but I think the biggest thing was the mistakes we made. The penalty count was quite high.

“We surrendered possession too often and therefore didn’t get enough continuity.

“A lot of little mistakes add up and it was very frustrating having made those that it was still only a three-point defeat.”

The loss meant Swans failed to qualify for the prestigious Intermediate Cup, won at Twickenham in 2013-14 by Trowbridge, who topped the Southern Counties standings last term.

Tomes, a former hooker and assistant coach at Swans, continued: “There was always the target of winning the game in order to go into the Intermediate Cup, which in years gone by we had always enjoyed.

"That wasn’t the focus of the day but it was in the back of our minds and would have been another step forward.

“We will now focus on the league. Wimborne this weekend will be another test for us and we will be hoping to bounce back.

“They ran us fairly close in the cup recently and they beat Salisbury a week before the cup final, so their tails will certainly be up.”

Tomes was keen to praise the behind-the-scenes efforts of forwards coach Warren and backs coach Woolley – who is the son of chairman Jim.

“My assistants have played a huge part in what we’ve done this season,” he said.

“The work they have done has resulted in a huge improvement in the players.”