TROWBRIDGE Rugby coach Dan Jeffries insists more is to come from his side in the wake of last Saturday’s narrow 16-14 defeat to Royal Wootton Bassett in South West One East.

Jeffries’ troops conceded a penalty in the second half after holding a one-point lead at the break, and Bassett’s successful kick proved enough for the visitors to poach the win.

Trowbridge started the brighter of the sides and soon found themselves 7-0 up after Max Day touched down for a converted try.

A poor 15-minute period saw Jeffries’ side concede two tries – one converted – as Bassett opened up a 13-7 lead.

Jonny King crossed the whitewash to earn Trowbridge their second converted try, but the visitors’ penalty shortly into the second half proved enough for them to steal the points.

After the game, Jeffries stated that his side must rid of a 10-minute sporadic lull in their game – believing that it is costing them valuable points.

He said: “For us, it has been about concentration.

“We thought playing against the top teams would be difficult and that we might be scrambling for points at the bottom.

“But, actually, when we’ve played well, we’ve competed well against every team. We’ve just got into a bad habit of playing for 60 to 70 minutes.

“In the lower leagues, we would get away with it. But now we’re coughing up a lot of points in a small part of the game.

“That’s something we can work on – maturity and experience will develop.”

Trowbridge have little time to enjoy the traditional Six Nations break as they are set to face Keynsham on Friday in the quarter-finals of the Bath Combination Cup.

A win would put Jeffries’ squad one game away from a final appearance at The Rec – home of Premiership side Bath.

And the coach admits Trowbridge’s success in knockout competitions at all levels this season highlights the strength in depth he has available.

He said: “We’ll have seven substitutes against Keynsham so we will have a chance to try a few things.

“But it is the quarter-final, and the final is at The Rec. The boys will be keen to put in a decent performance and make up after getting knocked out by Keynsham last year in addition to our loss at the weekend.

“We have great strength in depth too, proven by the second team playing in the Dorest and Wiltshire Cup Final against Bournemouth.

“At the same time, the third team will be in a semi-final at Salisbury. Throughout the club, we’re really competing.

“And there is still plenty to come from us.”

Elsewhere, Chippenham took the bragging rights when they hosted county rivals Marlborough, claiming a 17-10 victory.

The result dents Marlborough’s hopes of a second successive promotion this season and sees Chippenham climb out of the bottom four in the table.

The home team applied pressure immediately and although Marlborough defended resolutely, they struggled to the keep the ball long enough to be able to do anything with it.

It took only four minutes for Chippenham to be awarded a penalty, which Oli Acorn kicked to the corner. Possession was then secured from the lineout before skipper Matt Dickens burst through the defence to score an unconverted try out wide.

The next 30 minutes was an arm wrestle, with Marlborough thinking they were on their way to the tryline for the first time, only to be stopped in their tracks when a penalty was awarded for a forward pass.

Then, two minutes before half-time, Chippenham’s Harry Murphy won a lineout, Ben Hathaway cleared forward and following a series of attacks, Frank Yawayaya eventually drove over the line, with Acorn’s kick making it 12-0 at the break.

Marlborough were on the offensive as soon as the second half started and after securing a lineout and driving to the line, Todd Johnson was able to dot down, although Macdonald Lewis’ conversion fell short.

Just three minutes later, Marlborough replayed the same move, with Epeli Kotobalavu the man to claim the second try. Again, Lewis’ kick was short of the posts as the hosts stayed 12-10 in front.

Marlborough’s fightback was cut short by a yellow card for Taufa’ao Filise and that gave Chippenham the incentive to push on again.

Following a period of pressure, they were rewarded for their efforts when Jacob Unwin ran in their third try of the day, and although there was no conversion, Chippenham held on in the closing minutes to see out the win.