Winscombe RFC fell to a 29-15 defeat against high-flying Chippenham in their last Regional 2 Tribute Severn fixture before the winter break last Saturday.

It was the visitors who drew first blood following a counter-attack down the right, when Kier Clark scored in the corner.

When a penalty was awarded, following a collapsed scrum on the Chippenham five-metre line, scrum-half Lewis Podpadec took a quick tap to crash over and level the scores.

Most of the rest of the first period was played out in a 5-5 stalemate until Chippenham took the advantage with a driving maul that brought them a converted try through Jack Smith, giving them a 12-5 lead at half-time.

Playing down the slope in the second half Winscombe must have fancied their chances of an upset, but Chippenham showed their back-line class and counter-attacked on a number of occasions, scoring three tries through Chris Cook, John Leko and Charlie Parsons to stretch their lead.

Winscombe rallied with two tries of their own through hooker Richard Priddice, following a driving maul, and winger Jim Rutherford, set free down the right flank following another dominant scrum display on the Chippenham 22 as the Combe were beaten in their last game of 2023.

Winscombe visit league leaders Royal Wootton Bassett in the New Year.