CREDITON 39

OPM 20

CREDITON maintained their promotion challenge to Withycombe and Saltash as all three sides jockey for position at the top of the table leading into the festive season.

However, they made hard work of overcoming an Old Plymothian and Mannamedian side that belied their lowly position in the league.

This was certainly not the best Crediton performance of the season although outscoring the visitors by seven tries to two, a winning margin of 19 points seemed scant reward.

All the early pressure came from Crediton and the visitors were fortunate not to concede a penalty try after three successive scrum infringements five metres off their line.

However, it came as no surprise that Crediton took the lead on 12 minutes when blind-side winger Ollie Down came into the attack on the open side and created the extra man and scored out wide.

Crediton were then stunned by two Gavin Rea penalties to put OPM ahead after 20 minutes. Their lead did not last long and after several phases, fly-half Mark Lee broke clear before offloading to No 8 Mark Nott who raced over from 25 metres, Lee converted.

The lead was extended when, from good lineout ball, lock Gav Best got the touchdown from a classic catch and drive. Within two minutes, the bonus point try was in the pocket when, from a scrum on the Crediton "22",  the ball went wide to winger Mike Pearce who gained 30 metres before offloading to Lee whose diagonal run saw him over in the corner.

Crediton were out of the blocks quickly in the second half and a superb move involving most of the backs ended with Down going over in the corner.

A pushover try from Nott put the game beyond doubt although within minutes, OPM reduced the deficit with a well-worked try of their own converted by Rea.

Nott then bagged another pushover try which Lee converted but the final word went to the visitors with a try in the last minute following a series of penalties against Crediton, Rea converted.

SIDMOUTH SECONDS 5

CREDITON 'QUINS 19

On a heavy pitch Crediton started the stronger of the two teams camping in the Sidmouth half direct from kick off, controlling possession and field position well.

Sidmouth were strong in defence and proving difficult to break down but after 13 minutes continuous Crediton pressure finally took its toll and Jake Clarke broke through a Sidmouth tackle to go over for the first try of the game, with the conversion being missed.

Crediton continued to play well-controlled rugby and after 21 minutes added to their score.

Running the ball out of their own half they took play into the Sidmouth "22" metres area where they recycled the ball through several phases of play for Ed Marshall to break through a gap and go over under the posts, fly-half Matt Watkins converted.

From the restart Crediton continued to maintain their forward momentum but were forced into errors by the home defenders who began to gain turnover possession and set up counter attacks.

It was from a Crediton error that Sidmouth found good field position and from well-controlled phases of play they broke through the Crediton defence to score an unconverted try in the corner to make the half-time score 12-5.

The second half saw an evenly contested encounter with both sides playing some good rugby.

Unfortunately the game was interrupted 12 minutes into the second half following a serious injury to a Sidmouth player.

After a lengthy stoppage the game restarted although it was evident that the light was going to fade before the full 80 minutes of play could be reached.

Both sets of players found it difficult to get going again but Crediton were the quickest to get back into their rhythm and they added to their score within 10 minutes of the restart when the ball was moved swiftly through their backs and Jordan Pring ran a good line to power through his tackle to go over under the posts, Watkins again converting.

The light was now fading quickly and after 68 minutes of play the referee decided to halt the game for safety reasons with the score at 19-5, a decision which was absolutely correct and agreed upon by both teams.

Crediton are still not the finished article, as one would expect with team changes each week, but there are continuous improvements being made every week which is testament to the hard work the players are putting in.

TORRINGTON

SECONDS 10

CREDDITON

HORNETS 54

In a friendly fixture, Crediton Hornets proved too strong for the home side. The forwards were evenly matched but the real damage was done in the backs.

With a good supply of quality ball, the backs ran through the Torrington defence with relative ease.

All the tries came from the backs with Dave Longley crossing for a hat-trick; Scott Mills grabbed two and there was one a-piece for Ieuan Evans, Joe Knott and Nick Mingo.

Phil Anning converted five and Gareth Kinch two.

Floodlit match for RBL funds

CREDITON VETS' 33

IDE BARBARIANS 10

The Kirton Vets' enjoyed a real tussle with the visiting Ide Barabarians on a pretty wet Wednesday evening.

However, the elements did not deter a decent crowd for the first-ever floodlit rugby match in Crediton.

The players certainly did not disappoint as they rolled back the years and while the pace may have slowed slightly, certainly the skills have not diminished with time.

The Ide side also contained a number of current and former Crediton players all invited to play.

Ide certainly had the better of the early stages and took the lead after 20 minutes but the scores were levelled when Sam Fice went over for a try.

The Barbarians regained the lead with a second try but again the Vets' hit back with a well-worked try from Dave Kimberley.

Mark Gulley landed the touchline conversion via the crossbar to put the Vets' ahead 12-10 at the interval.

The second half was equally as intense as the first had been but gradually the Vets' gained the upper-hand and grabbed a further three tries.

Fice completed a hat-trick and Gulley also touched down.

Ian Gillard landed all three conversions without the aid of a kicking tee!

It was a thoroughly entertaining game enjoyed by players and spectators alike and at the same time raised some money for The Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal.

PH