LYDNEY suffered a crushing 84-0 defeat away to Exmouth on Saturday as their struggles on the road continued against one of Regional One South West's strongest sides.

The Severnsiders travelled to Devon without four key players, with Dunn, Cuthbert, Hanley and Boughton all unavailable.

Director of Rugby Paul Morris reshuffled his starting line-up, bringing Jake Bonser into the second row and Joe Hamlin back into the centre.

Despite a competitive opening period, Exmouth soon established control through their powerful forwards and clinical attacking play.

Jake Inglis opened the scoring before Charlie Gibbons, Tom Lomax, Dan Mugford and Deon Mau'u extended the hosts' advantage.

Lydney struggled to maintain possession, with difficulties at scrum and lineout time allowing Exmouth to dominate territory.

The home side continued scoring throughout the opening period, establishing a commanding 41-0 advantage by half-time.

Although the visitors attempted to respond after the interval, promising breaks from George Gladding, Jesse Ribeiro, Hamlin and Charlie Beddis failed to produce points.

Exmouth continued exploiting mistakes and added another 43 unanswered points to complete an emphatic victory.

Alex Seville impressed for Lydney with several powerful carries, while Morgan French, Haydn Keogh and Will Green also worked hard.

However, Morris admitted his side had been comprehensively beaten.

He said: "We were second best today, too many mistakes and never got going, however they are probably the best side we have faced this season."

The result represented a disappointing setback following Lydney's impressive home victory over Newent the previous weekend.

With important fixtures approaching, Morris stressed the need for an immediate improvement.

Lydney have a free weekend before hosting Launceston, with an away fixture at Weston-super-Mare also approaching as they seek valuable league points.