ADAM Westall kicked four conversions and a penalty from fly-half, whilst fellow Swindon players Tom Mannion and Ben Saville were amongst the substitutes as Dorset & Wilts won the RFU County Shield in their first-ever appearance at Twickenham.

After a nervous first half Dorset & Wilts overturned a 16-10 half-time deficit to score two early touch-downs in the second half and re-take the lead, and from that moment on the south west side never looked like being caught.

Bournemouth centre Scott Chislett crossed the whitewash in the first half, followed by club mate Jo Burns early in the second, before Salisbury’s Sean Barwick registered. Mike Pope, another of the Bournemouth contingent, dived over for the fourth and Chinnor’s Liam Gilbert grabbed Dorset & Wilts’ fifth try and final try.

Leicestershire relied on their giant pack to bulldoze forward in an effort to haul themselves back into the contest, and the front five, led by skipper Frazer Wilford, were forced to lay their bodies on the line to stem the flow.

But the combined counties’ forward unit negated the strength of their opponents, allowing the three-quarters to run amok, cutting Leicestershire’s defense to shreds.

After the game, winger Mike Pope said: “I’m chuffed to bits. It was one of my lifelong dreams to play at Twickenham so I’m really happy.

“Scott (Chislett) put me in with a long pass that reached me and luckily I was able to finish the move off.

“It was a run from 22 metres to the line and fortunately I got over. It was such a great feeling.”

Skipper Frazer Wilford, who received the trophy from England and British Lions legend Bill Beaumont.

He said: “We never thought at any stage we would lose out. The coaches just said if we carry on playing like we had done in the first 30 minutes we would win, and that’s what the boys did in the second period.

“We had to play with the pace and width we always talk about because Leicestershire were very forward-orientated and it worked out. Winning here feels fantastic.

“It’s a once in a lifetime experience. It probably won’t come around for me again. Our success is the result of a lot of hard work, not just this year but over the past two years.”