A cracking opener to the season between two evenly matched sides, and one where the lead changed hands on multiple occasions, but Sherborne managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

After a tuneless pre-match rendition of the Carmen (in tweeds) from the Gents, Marlborough were suitably stunned come kick-off for Sherborne to dominate the first ten minutes and take a 5-0 lead. Then the pendulum swung with Marlborough dominating the scrum as well as showing lacerating pace in the outside channels. Two tries by them followed, but then a converted reply by Sherborne saw us clinging to a 12-10 lead at half-time.

Marlborough then scored another early try from the right wing channel to lead 15-10 before the match became increasingly fiercely contested, with early season errors proliferating on both sides. Playing uphill, Sherborne finally managed to wrestle greater control of territory and possession and retook the lead from an unconverted try. With the final seconds ebbing away all we needed to do was retain possession and recycle, but ended up being penalised at the breakdown on half-way. Credit to Marlborough, they chanced their arm, ran the ball from deep and scored a winning try from the final play of the game.

So, an agonising 17-22 loss, but either side could have deservedly claimed victory. No lack of heart was on display, but our error count and decision making needs to improve. At least we have a return fixture with Marlborough on home turf after half-term, where we will hope to even the score.