Lions coach David Dunn has heaped praise upon Sam Hardcastle after his "two moments of magic" helped his side beat Salisbury to progress into the final of the Dorset and Wiltshire Cup.

The scrum-half scored three tries in the 31-15 win - his side's first hat-trick in the cup in 16 years, meaning Lions will face rivals Swanage and Wareham in next month's final (April 6, 3pm).

Dunn expressed his delight at a number of players' performances, and highlighted Hardcastle, whose scores took him past 500 points, as the key that opened up the Wiltshire outfit's defence.

"I was pleased with Tim Wareham who has now played the last two matches at tight-head prop, as well as Troy Siaki who's just come back from injury.

"But once again it came down to two moments of magic from Sam Hardcastle who was outstanding once again."

His first came in the fifth minute when picked the ball up from the base of the scrum before diving over the line to give Lions an early lead.

Salisbury responded well however, and were rewarded with a try of their own on 25 minutes when Richard Roe went over before Tom Pottage converted to put his side ahead.

Hardcastle almost created a try soon after as he broke forward; his good hands allowing him to release Seward and Bruce with the latter being thwarted by the Salisbury defence when a try looked a certainty.

The move got Lions going, and they soon retook the lead when Hardcastle claimed his second try of the match when he traded passes with winger James Flynn before going under the posts on 37 minutes with Flynn converting.

From that moment Lions didn't look back, and captain Dan Cawley and Flynn both went over either side of Hardcastle claiming his hat-trick when he was on hand to weave his way through the Wiltshire club's defence from the back of a scrum.

Although Salisbury claimed a last-minute consolation try, Dunn was understandably delighted with his team's display.

He said: "It was a good performance from us. We played some good rugby in what were very difficult conditions.

"It rained throughout the game making the pitch very heavy and difficult to play an open game on, but I think we coped well.

"Salisbury put up a spirited fight, but it was only a matter of time before our power paid off."

Meanwhile, the bad weather meant that Nomads' final against Chippenham in the Twin Counties Second XV Cup had to be postponed. The re-arranged date is yet to be confirmed.