Calne 2XV (Crusaders) bounced back from their cup exit the previous week to record a record league win against an overpowered Sutton Benger (2XV) side 3-62.

Ed Gillams and Dave Evans made their Calne debuts and both players made great impact as the visiting Calne team dismantled Benger. Andrew Donegan also made a welcome return (after injury) at scrum half and kept Benger in their own half with some great tactical kicking.

After a minutes silence was observed for the sad loss of a Sutton Benger player in a car accident the week before, Calne started strongly and within two minutes had scored the first of many tries, under the posts.

The combination of brute strength and running rugby took its toll on the home side but they still kept fighting for scraps and never gave up.

After only three one sided scrums, the referee called over (Prop and Captain) Chris Austin to request that the scrums should be uncontested for the rest of the game for the safety of the Sutton Benger front row & pack. This was a big disappointment for the Calne front row consisting of Paul Wood (Loose), Dave Evans (Hooker) & Chris Austin (Tight-head), but the game continued and the visitors continued to dominate proceedings.

Calne continued to play with ambition and strong running from Ricky Humphreys, Gareth Pavey and Alex Marshall bashed holes in the home side defences. The backs put together some great running moves which opened up the defence further and the points started to mount up. With Calne already a few tries up, Sutton Benger had a penalty awarded and decided to kick to get points on the board. This kick was taken well and the home side avoided finishing the day with a zero.

Tries scorers included: James Morten (two), Tom Blomfield, Paul Wood, Chris Austin, Anthony Jane, Gareth Pavey, Alex Marshall, Craig Wood, Tom Porter and super sub Matt Snell. Andrew Donegan and Tom Blomfield shared the conversions and both kicked brilliantly to rub salt into the Benger wounds.

In the second half, a combination of resilient Sutton Benger defence and Calne taking the foot of the gas, slowed the scoring rate and regular 2XV captain Tom Morten came on to add even more menace to the pack. The Sutton Benger captain then asked for the game to be finished earlier as it was so one-sided, but the rampant visitors looked to improve their point’s difference in the league, so the full 80 minutes was played. This decision proved to be very wise as two late tries sealed a 62-3 win for Calne.

At the end of the game a delighted Calne 2XV captain (Chris Austin) said: This is a good performance but we are an improving side with great heart and ability. The powerful running of Alex Marshall, Gareth Pavey and James Morten was too much for any side to take and with the backs were fantastic with ball in hand. Tom Porter, Craig Wood and Ed Gillams ran them (Benger) ragged and Jason Wood worked tirelessly all afternoon. The team can now look forward to building on this win as we push for promotion.