TROWBRIDGE had centre pairing Adam Sullivan and Lee McClurg to thank for a tense victory over neighbours Corsham in this crucial Southern Counties South relegation battle.

Sullivan and McClurg combined with pace and vision to breach the powerful Corsham line as the Green Lane outfit avenged the league defeat from September. Relieved skipper Barry Coombs said this was an important win for his improving side, although he acknowledged the game was not a great spectacle.

He said: "It was a typical derby. We knew Corsham had a strong pack so it was our plan to play around them. Our forwards tried to compete at first before we knew we had to stop messing around.

"After that our two centres were rampant. They were the difference between the sides. Corsham just did not want to tackle them."

Trowbridge met the Corsham pack head-on in a scrappy opening, but struggled to make any impression on the scoreboard. When fly half Richard Jones put the Corsham line under pressure, a flowing team move saw full back Liam Ellis dive over in the corner for the game's opening try after 20 minutes. Alex Hill added the conversion.

Corsham hit back through number eight Ben Russell, whose try was converted by skipper Denzil Brockhurst to level the scores at 7-7.

Trowbridge regained the lead before half time when Sullivan picked up a loose ball in his own half and broke through several tackles for a brilliant individual try, which was again converted by Hill.

Prop Sam Edwards then crashed over the line for his first Trowbridge try to extend the visitors' lead to 19-7 just minutes after the restart. Individual errors let Corsham back into the game and a strong forward drive allowed hooker Tim Russell to cross the whitewash for an unconverted try with 10 minutes remaining. Trowbridge then survived a series of late penalties to hold on for the win.

The Green Lane side host Walcot Old Boys in the Bath Combination Cup tomorrow (Saturday)