LYDNEY secured their first league victory of the season with an impressive 35-22 win away at Sidmouth, producing a commanding display to claim five valuable points.

After defeats against two leading sides, the Severnsiders travelled to Devon determined to get their campaign moving, with director of rugby Paul Morris making several changes to his squad.

Jake Hanley started at full-back, while Charlie Beddis returned among the replacements alongside Harvey Heaven, Wilf Doyle-Finch and Rowan Mullis.

The visitors struck first when Brad Dunn made ground towards the home side's 22 before Will Green broke through to score. Hanley converted to establish a seven-point advantage.

Sidmouth responded through Finn Lashbrook before Haydon Down crossed from a driving maul, with Lewis Tose converting to put the hosts 12-7 ahead.

Lydney regained the initiative when George Gladding broke through and released centre Jesse Ribeiro, who raced beneath the posts. Hanley converted before adding a penalty.

Both sides then exchanged successful penalties, leaving Lydney holding a narrow 20-15 advantage at the interval.

The visitors increasingly controlled proceedings after the restart, with Hanley's exceptional tactical kicking repeatedly forcing Sidmouth deep into their own territory.

Lydney's forwards also impressed, particularly Alex Seville, Morgan French and Jack Cuthbert, although several promising opportunities went unfinished as the visitors struggled to convert pressure into points.

Beddis looked dangerous in midfield and narrowly missed collecting a kick through as Lydney continued to threaten.

Hanley eventually extended the advantage with another penalty, putting the visitors eight points clear with 15 minutes remaining.

Sidmouth attempted to respond, but determined defensive contributions from Heaven and Doyle-Finch repeatedly frustrated the home side.

The visitors finally secured another try when Sidmouth dropped possession and Doyle-Finch gathered the loose ball before beating two defenders to cross.

Hanley's conversion stretched Lydney's lead to 30-15, although Sidmouth refused to surrender and scored a converted try with five minutes remaining.

With the hosts threatening another comeback, Doyle-Finch produced important tackles and won a turnover penalty to relieve the pressure.

Hanley kicked towards the corner, where French helped establish a driving maul which allowed Jack Knox to touch down and complete the victory.

The result delivered Lydney's first five-point haul of the campaign, although five injuries provided concern ahead of their next fixture.

Morris praised the collective effort and highlighted the influence of his half-backs.

He said: "Sidmouth played well today in an extremely competitive game and it was a good test for us.

"Really pleased to get our first win as will give the new look team some confidence going forward.

"Some good performances today especially our halfbacks of Boughton and Hanley who enabled us to control the game in the second half and run out deserved winners."

Despite creating enough chances to register a larger score, the visitors showed greater composure when it mattered, with their replacements making significant contributions during a demanding final quarter.

Lydney now face another difficult away assignment at Brixham, hoping to build on a performance which demonstrated their attacking potential and defensive resilience.