TRURO 29

CREDITON 5

CREDITON turned in a very frustrating performance and in all honesty it is difficult to find any real positives from the game.

The wind had an enormous effect but, of course, throughout the game it was the same for both sides. The difference was simply that the home side adapted to the conditions whereas we did not.

The first half saw us playing against the elements and for 20 minutes we were never under any real threat, Truro were not a particularly good side but were adept at making the most of the gifts that we offered up.

Their first score came from a clearance kick that held up against the wind and was run back from our “22” for a score in the corner.

A second score came from a lineout thrown to the front and we failed to protect the blindside allowing their prop to dash down the touchline for another score in the corner, this time converted from out wide.

A failure to release at the tackle then gave Truro a penalty in front of the posts for a 15 point lead.

Throughout the half we had been unable to create any pressure in the home “22” until the final minute when a penalty was kicked to the corner and the resulting catch and drive ended with a try for prop Wayne Reed.

With a dominant Crediton scrum, the general feeling amongst the home support was that a 10 point interval lead would not be enough and in fairness we felt that we were well in contention.

With the elements in our favour the obvious ploy would be to kick for the corners and force lineouts which for most of the game had been much of a lottery, any wayward throws would have given us the put in at the scrum and our dominance in that area would surely provide us with scoring opportunities to get back in the game.

Unfortunately, things did not work out that way and we tried to run the ball from deep positions.

Truro defended well and we spilled possession and it was the Cornishmen who increased their lead early in the second half, turning over possession on half-way and breaking clear with support for the ball carrier for a try under the posts.

Again we did not seem to learn the lesson and continued to run the ball instead of kicking for position and in all honesty we were getting nowhere.

With 10 minutes remaining, another error gifted the hosts with possession and another try at the posts.

Our game had become somewhat predictable and easy to defend against and the decent hard work in the first half which gave us a real chance of getting something out of the game in the second period, was undone by what can only be described as a poor 40 minutes.

Performances such as this can only keep us in a relegation battle all season which is obviously something that we are desperate to avoid.

Whilst it is still early days, we are only one third of the way through the season, we certainly need to find some form and close the gap on those sides in mid-table.

CREDITON ‘QUINS 6

BARNSTAPLE SECONDS 0

Despite the lack of scoring opportunities, both sides contributed to an entertaining game and the Merit Table Champions of the past three seasons were given something of a surprise.

Two Rob Milton penalties proved the difference between the sides in a result which will have dented the visitors hopes of making it four Championships in a row.

The ‘Quins were not helped by some late withdrawals on Saturday morning resulting in last minute changes which were further hampered by a player then failing to arrive. A further change had to be made to the starting line up half-an-hour before kick off, not the best preparation for a fixture like this!

Immediately from the kick off it became obvious that this was going to be a close encounter and the ‘Quins began controlling the game well forcing Barnstaple onto the back foot for long periods.

Both sides probed hard to produce line breaks and gain territory but it was the defences of both teams which were taking the honours, as neither was giving any quarter.

It took until the 39th minute of the first half to get some movement on the scoreboard, Barnstaple were penalised for handling in the ruck and fly-half Rob Milton stepped forward and coolly converted the penalty kick to give Crediton a 3-0 lead going into half-time.

Going into the second half Crediton now had the wind behind them and Milton was making good use of it kicking deep into the Barnstaple half for good field positions from which to launch attacks, but the Barnstaple defence was holding firm denying the ‘Quins any real chance to get near their try-line.

On 75 minutes Crediton finally added to their score. Barnstaple were penalised for a scrum infringement and once again Rob Milton stepped up to convert the kick from 20 metres out, giving Crediton a 6-0 lead with five minutes play left on the clock.

Knowing that a converted try would still give them the win, Barnstaple threw everything they had at Crediton direct from the re-start, but the Crediton team defended heroically, not giving Branstaple any room whatsoever.

The last five minutes seemed like an eternity to the ‘Quins players but much to their credit they held out for a much deserved 6-0 win, the first time they had beaten Barnstaple Seconds for some time.

This was a real team effort with some big performances from a lot of individuals, but overall there were no heroes, this was a complete team effort where every player played their heart out for their team mates.

CREDITON HORNETS 20

TOPSHAM SECONDS 7

With Crediton Thirds and Topsham Seconds occupying the top two places in Devon Merit Table Two and level on points, this was an encounter that both sides were looking forward to.

Two Sam Miller tries and one from newcomer Keith McLoughlin plus a conversion and penalty from Gareth Kinch kept the Hornets well ahead as they ran out well-deserved winners by 20 points to seven.

EXMOUTH COLTS 31

CREDITON COLTS 12

The Colts travelled to Exmouth for a friendly and worked hard before eventually losing out to their hosts.

Prop Tom Luxmore scored for the third successive week with a further score from Ben Webber. Hayden Hill landed a conversion.

Saturday, November 28 sees the start of the Plate Competition and fixtures should now be available.

PH