MELKSHAM moved into the top three in the Dorset & Wilts One North table following a 29-15 victory at home to Sutton Benger.

Melksham ran in five tries on the day and are now just three points behind league leaders Avonvale.

The visitors were actually first on the scoreboard on the day when they split the posts with a penalty but Melksham responded within a few minutes when captain Nick Suter crossed the whitewash to register his team’s opening points.

A tightly-contested period followed and a pushover try allowed Benger to regain the lead.

Spotting the opportunity for a quick tap-and-go, Callum Hurn started a move through the backs that culminated in Dave Dyke scoring to ease Melksham away from their visitors.

The home side were now taking a firm grip on the game as Scott Davis pounced to force his way over the line for try number three.

Melksham were making the most of their chances and went over the tryline again before half-time. Dogged determination saw Ben Brown cross the whitewash for the bonus-point score, with Alistair Smith adding his first conversion on the day to make it 22-8 at half-time.

The momentum continued in the second half as Melksham kicked for touch 10 minutes after the restart, and a catch and drive from the lineout led to Suter scoring his second try in the game. Smith added the extras once more.

Undaunted, Benger continued to press hard as they had done throughout the game and were rewarded with a converted pushover try for the final points in the game, although it came much too late to alter the overall outcome.

Warminster are one place above Melksham in the table – although the teams have the same amount of points – following their 28-21 success away at Chippenham 2nd.

Bradford on Avon remain at the foot of the table on just one win for the season after falling to a 43-5 defeat at home to Royal Wootton Bassett 2nd.