After the disappointing result at Witney the previous week, Trowbridge welcomed back James MacFarlane on the wing after the late withdrawal of Lewis Jordan, and recent signing Angus Lean on the flank. Lean’s return however was short lived as he had to leave the field injured in the early exchanges. The experienced Lee Fairclough returned in his place. The windy conditions and quick defence lines from both sides created havoc and handling mistakes but soon Trowbridge gained territorially and it was not long before forward dominance resulted in an early score for the home side. Skipper and No 8 Max Day forced his way over for a try in the first then minutes and Ollie Weaver converted. Windsor responded with two penalties before Trowbridge scored again with Day again breaking the Windsor defence and again Weaver converted.

The defences were able to cope with most attacks and though the Trowbridge backs did make inroads they could not break the final line of Windsor’s defence. In particular Nigel Kershaw and Ashley Chalk had opportunities but the score remained at 14-6 at the interval. Not surprisingly the teams left the field to go to the changing rooms because of the cold conditions, and most of the spectators retired to the bar. Many watched proceedings from inside in the second half.

The elements were now with Trowbridge but progress was limited. Windsor scored first with a penalty, but almost immediately Trowbridge restored the 8 point leave with a Weaver penalty. Neither side could establish dominance as both sides incurred penalties for similar infringements. They were not responding to the errors spotted by referee Mark Lenton Jinks. Windsor kicked another penalty to bring the visitors within a score. Both sides had opportunities with Trowbridge more likely to score, but they conceded penalties and were on the defence again. Winsor never came close enough to threaten to score a try, but the home supporters were relieved to hear the final whistle after what seemed to be a very long half. At one point the referee encouraged play to continue at a faster pace because of the fading light.

Trowbridge remained in 5th place in the league, but face a difficult match when they visit Banbury’s Bodicote Park next week. Chippenham gained their 3rd win after losing all of their first 8 matches, but they have played the bottom two clubs in their latest matches, and local clubs Frome and Marlborough both suffered home defeats. Leaders Banbury and the other leaders Oxford Harlequins, Newbury Blues and Bracknell all maintained the chase with wins.