SWINDON College Old Boys were crowned champions this weekend after a 20-12 win over Weymouth & Portland in the Dorset & Wilts Senior Vase final in Warminster.

A trio of tries were enough to claim victory, with Florin Palcau, Charlie Grabe and Adam Reeves all getting on the scoresheet as the Pipers Way men booked their place in the national stages of the competition.

Palcau broke the deadlock early on when he handed Martin Lloyd’s troops a 5-0 lead, Grabe was unable to make the most of the quick start as his conversion hit the post.

Grabe then made amends for his earlier miss by extending the lead to 8-0 with a successful penalty.

Twenty-two minutes in Weymouth hit back with a try of their own before the end of the first half thanks to Shaun Murphy the score reading 8-5 to the Wiltshire side.

The second half saw a frantic start as the Old Boys grabbed two quick-fire tries, Grabe got the first, but missed with his kick.

Reeves made it 20-5 when he crossed the line but this time Grabe was successful with the conversion.

Weymouth were forced to play without their captain Ryan Lewendon as he was sidelined after receiving two blows to the head.

Despite this the Dorset and Wilts 1 side refused to give up as they added another try, this time through Jonny Young after he made the most of an interception before touching down between the posts, Bryn Llewellyn added the extras.

As the game came to an end it was the unbeaten Berks, Bucks and Oxon Premier leaders who used their experience to close the contest as they kept possession to run down the clock to claim a 20-12 win.