BOURNEMOUTH won the county under-16 bragging rights by toppling old adversaries Dorchester in the Dorset Cup.

Kevin Hodgson scored a hat-trick of tries as the young Lions swept aside their opponents 50-7 in the final at Wimborne Rugby Club’s Leigh Park ground.

“It was a fantastic win, but the scoreline doesn’t reflect how close the game was,” said Bournemouth head coach Simon Coulter.

“Dorchester put up a lot of resistance and never gave up until the final whistle,” he explained.

Bournemouth’s 46-8 win over Dorchester earlier in the season meant they went into the match with the ‘favourites’ tag.

This, however, was the case when the two teams locked horns in the corresponding under-13 final three seasons ago when Dorchester upset the form book with a narrow victory.

This year’s conditions were ideal and suited Bournemouth’s more free-flowing style of running rugby.

But Dorchester were never going to roll over and this proved the case for the first 20 minutes with each side unable to break the other down. Bournemouth, however, made the first breakthrough when Hodgson scored the first of his three tries.

The momentum was with the Chapel Gate-based outfit who went into the interval 22-7 ahead.

Other try scorers included Daniel Coulter (2), Harvey Newman and Sam Palmer, while Lewis Dennett converted a high percentage of the tries.

Bournemouth now face Wiltshire champions Corsham in the Dorset & Wilts final to be played on April 29 at Chapel Gate.

Lions under-16s: Alex Angco, Tristan King (captain), Josh Parsley, Nathan Merridew, Jack Bufton, Matt Aldridge, Matt Aldridge, Ed Mason, Liam Richards, Dan Coulter, Dan Humphries, Harvey Newman, Lewis Dennett, Charlie Ryde, Kevin Hodgson, Ben Meaden. Replacements: Damon Quinn, Ben Taylor, Henry Newton, Sam Palmer, Rich Bowes, Olly Kent, Dom Ottaway.