CATS freed themselves from the shackles of relegation on Saturday with a convincing victory over basement side Blandford.

Despite the appaling conditions, CATs savaged their opponents with a six-try salvo to move one point clear of the dreaded drop zone.

Coach Mark Simmons said he was happy with the result but felt his side should have make a bigger impression on the scoreboard.

He said: "We were targeting a few more points and I was confident we could put a big score on them.

"But it rained throughout the whole game and the surface was very slippy. The rain inhibited our normal game because we couldn't bring our backs into play."

The win leaves CATs on the brink of a remarkable recovery in the Southern Counties South.

With just five points from their first 13 league games, CATS looked destined to drop anchor in Dorset and Wilts North One next season. But an impressive run of four wins and a draw from seven matches has lifted spirits and hopes of a revival.

Simmons said: "We still have to play two of the other four teams in relegation trouble, so it's in our hands now.

"We're still not sure how many teams will go down but all we can do is keep out of the bottom three and pray. I just hope the defeat at Blandford on the opening day does not come back to haunt us."

Tries from Matt Glover, Jeremy Flower, Danny Wells and Adam Low and two push-over tries from the forwards put CATS in control on Saturday. Scott Simmons kicked the extras.