DEPLETED Swanage & Wareham paid a heavy price for their injury and unavailability problems as they were hammered at Marlow without registering a point.
Swans were thumped 41-0 by their South West One East rivals after being forced to make 10 changes from the team that had lined up against Salisbury a week earlier.
Hosts Marlow went over early following a catch and drive and never looked back – storming into a 27-point lead by half-time in Saturday’s match.
Swans improved after the break but could not stop fourth-placed Marlow completing the victory by taking to six their try-scoring tally. The heavy defeat left Swanage & Wareham third from bottom in the league standings with just three victories from their 10 matches.
Swans: Dunsford, D Jones, Prior, Wilcox, Oliver (R Elford, 74), Harris, Woolley, Frampton, Scott, Audley (Wyburgh, 59), Lewis, Collins, Desmond, A Jones, Marshallsay (Maginn, 49).
• Ellingham & Ringwood secured a 23-12 victory at Purley John Fisher after profiting from a flying start to their London Three South West clash.
The E’s raced into a 15-0 lead inside the opening half an hour following tries from Dan Stewart and Andy Turner.
Two quickfire scores from the hosts reduced the deficit to 15-12 at the interval.
But despite being reduced to 14 men – with PJF later suffering the same fate – Ellingham & Ringwood sealed the win when Ross Whale crossed late on.
John Firkin finished with a conversion and two penalties.
• Southern Counties South, North Dorset made it six wins in seven with a narrow home victory over Trowbridge. The 17-14 success left them in second spot.
Wimborne slipped to fifth after suffering a 22-5 defeat at Frome, while Oakmeadians were beaten 33-20 by Corsham at Meyrick Park. Struggling Blandford were hammered by Walcot as they found themselves on the wrong end of a 70-0 scoreline away from home.
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