SWANAGE & Wareham had to dig deep before running out 22-18 victors over Thatcham in the final of the RFU Southern Counties Intermediate Cup.

The triumph at Thatcham’s Henwick Lane headquarters earned the Bestwall boys a home clash in the South West divisional final against Truro on March 18.

Southern Counties North outfit Thatcham made the most of the elements to forge into a 13-5 lead with Ilaita Ratuqalovi’s try putting Swans on the scoreboard.

Although Ratuqalovi powered his way over the line after 12 minutes to wipe out Thatcham’s early penalty, the hosts came back with a converted try and a second penalty.

However, Swans reached the break trailing by a solitary point after number eight Kirk Jones had touched down following a series of scrums with Phil Graves adding the extras to make it 13-12.

Swans, playing with the wind at their backs in the second half, camped inside Thatcham territory for long periods but had to wait until the 64th minute to regain the lead.

Scrum-half Chris Tomes worked his way over the line to make it 17-13 before Swans were rewarded for their pressure when Erin Inglis’s try extended their advantage to 22-13.

Thatcham set up a tense finish by scoring a penalty and then a try in the final minute but Swans held firm to progress to the divisional final.

Swans: Woolley, Parry, Romanillo, D Elford, Barton, Graves, Tomes, Sheldrake, Elford, Wyburgh, Collins, Penney, Ratiqalovi, Large, Jones. Replacements: Audley, G Smith, Inglis, Andrews, A Smith, Warren, Bobo.