South West 1 East

WITNEY slipped closer to the relegation zone with a 28-19 defeat at Newbury, who boosted their own hopes of staying up.

The visitors were left cursing mishandling, miskicking, missed tackles and a rising penalty count as they trailed 13-0 at the break.

Fly half Henry Lamb was off target with two penalty attempts for a sluggish Witney.

Wing Lewis Collins grabbed the first of a try double after half-time, but Newbury were able to reply with tries of their own each time.

Lamb converted Collins’s second try to bring the score back to 18-12, but a yellow card for prop Jamie Burke did not help Witney’s cause.

Trailing 25-12 with the clock ticking down, Witney managed a penalty try, converted by Lamb, but a late Newbury penalty denied them a losing bonus point.

Wing Josh Bartlett (2), full back Tom Martin and No 8 Louis Kinsey scored Newbury’s tries, with fly half Jack Muggridge converting one and slotting two penalties.