ST AUSTELL 18

CREDITON 19

WITH a number of players not available for this trip, especially in the back division, it would have been easy to have hoped for a damage limitation exercise on this trip to Cornwall. 

St Austell had beaten fourth placed Sidmouth a fortnight earlier and so we knew we were in for a tough time. 

The additional problems with the weather, a wet and windy afternoon, would not be conducive to throwing the ball about. 

With the wind at our backs in the first half, we certainly would expect to kick to the corners and attack their lineout and hopefully get as many points on the board as we could. 

Indeed the tactic paid off in the first five minutes. Our kick to the corner was fielded but the return clearance did not gain much ground for the hosts. Lock Cam Huxtable who was outstanding in the lineout all afternoon, took the ball cleanly and we set up a superb driving maul ending with No 8 Mark Nott touching down.

It took until the 22nd minute for the lead to increase and it came from an excellent handling move. Fly-half Rob Milton went through a gap and sent a pinpoint pass to winger Jack Zilch whose run from 30 metres took him past three defenders to score at the posts. Full-back Mark Lee converted for a 12-0 lead.

The hosts battled back and were rewarded with a penalty as we were penalised for not releasing at the tackle, 12-3.

Again we came back and gained good territory through kicking followed by a succession of scrums close to the home line and eventually we drove over for flanker Ben Wonnacott to get the touch down, Lee adding the extras. St Austell reduced the deficit with a second penalty right on half-time.

The second half was inevitably going to be a different story and whether a two score advantage was enough, only time would tell. 

It started in dangerous fashion, a clearance kick held up in the wind and a home centre timed his run to perfection, caught the ball at pace and looked odds on to score. 

However, some last ditch defending and a penalty for not releasing the ball in the tackle enabled us to clear the lines. 

We deployed a pick and drive game, looking after the ball and keeping the home side on the back foot, albeit without making too much ground. 

The ploy worked well and the clock was winding down but again we were conceding penalties although in some instances they were somewhat dubious. With 20 minutes remaining, St Austell were back in the game with a pushover try from their No 8. The kick was crucial and if successful it would leave them with a converted try to take the lead. 

Fortunately, it was wide of the mark and they still required two scores to get ahead.

That situation changed with 10 minutes remaining when we lost possession on the left touchline and the loose ball found its way to their very quick winger who raced home from 40 metres. This time the conversion was successful and our advantage reduced to one point. 

Again we continued with the sensible pick and go tactic, looking after the ball but again a penalty went the way of the home side. 

A kick to the corner found touch just inside our “22” and once again we were penalised for a lineout infringement but this time only a free kick was signalled.

However, the home fly-half requested the kicking tee and signalled a pot at the posts, thus confusing everyone. 

Despite protestations, the referee allowed the kick which would have put St Austell ahead and probably won them the game. 

As it turned out, justice was done and the kick was again wide of the mark. The clock was ticking away remarkably slowly but we continued to retain possession and drove into the home “22” before being forced into touch and to everyone’s relief the final whistle was blown after a 49 minute second half.

A very important win to give us nine points from a possible 10 in the last two games. 

Not all the other results went our way although we moved up one place and closed the gap on a couple of other teams above us.

Credit must be given to the players who came into the side. The centre pairing of Dan Lewis and Jake Clarke was solid in defence and fly-half Rob Milton made a couple of excellent breaks and formed a good half back partnership with Mike Pearce in his first start at scrum-half for some time. 

The pack was in excellent form and although the scrums were evenly contested, we were very dominant at the lineout for the second successive week. 

Anything other than a Crediton win would have been a total injustice.

CREDITON ‘QUINS 3

NEWTON ABBOT SECONDS 15

A combination of some players not available and others called up for First Fifteen 1 duty, meant the ‘Quins were pretty well under strength for the visit of third placed Newton Abbot Seconds to Blagdon and with only one replacement we were left with very little room for manoeuvre should we suffer any injuries during the game. 

That is not to say that those who came in did not perform well, indeed the contrary is true but being forced to play out of position against opposition of the calibre of Newton Abbot, was never going to be an easy task. 

Nonetheless, we began in positive mood taking the game immediately to the visitors forcing them back into their own “22” for long periods. 

Persistence paid off when we were awarded a penalty after 10 minutes and fly-half Stuart Pickard put us three points ahead..

Both sides were trying to play good rugby in poor conditions and Newton Abbot were starting to get into their stride putting Crediton on the defensive.

After 15 minutes Newton got onto the scoreboard when Crediton were penalised for holding onto the ball and the penalty was converted to make the score 3-3.

The game was very evenly balanced with each side cancelling each other out with good defensive play.

After 30 minutes Crediton suffered a major blow when their No 10 when playmaker Stu Pickard had to leave the field with a leg injury and with only a front row replacement on the bench to come on the ‘Quins were forced to make some major re-shuffles to their side and ended up playing with a back row forward and hooker as their centre pairing.

These changes soon settled in and the first half ended at 3-3 with Crediton being glad of the chance to re-group.

The second half started in the worst possible way for Crediton as direct from Newton Abbot’s kick off we knocked on in our own “22” giving Newton good field position. 

From the ensuing scrum Newton moved the ball swiftly through their backs and a miss-move split the revamped Crediton defence to go over for a converted try.

Crediton fought back strongly and were still forcing Newton Abbot onto the back foot but unfortunately their inexperienced back division could not break through the visiting defence.

At 20 minutes into the second half Crediton suffered another blow when back row forward John Butt had to leave the field with a head injury thus reducing Crediton to 14 men.

Even playing with a man down Crediton were still not giving up, desperately seeking an equalising try and conversion, but Newton were defending strongly.

In a last gasp effort the Crediton physio, Tom Merriman, volunteered to go on to even up the numbers so he went onto the wing for the final 10 minutes of play.

With only six minutes left on the clock Crediton were penalised in mid-field and with a strong wind to help, Newton kicked deep into the corner to give them a good attacking position.

Winning the line-out the Newton forwards then set up a strong driving maul and drove over the Crediton line for an unconverted try.

With a two score disadvantage, the ‘Quins realised that a win would be beyond their grasp but continued to take the game to the visitors right up to the final whistle

An heroic performance from each of the Crediton players where, in the face of adversity, they coped with everything that was being thrown at them, especially againt a decent Newton Abbot side. It would certainly have been very interesting had they not lost two key players through injury, or indeed had a full bench to select from.

CREDITON THIRDS 15

TEIGNMOUTH SECONDS 21

The momentum of the rolling “sacktruck” that is the Third Fifteen was brought to an abrupt halt against Teignmouth Second Fifteen on a blustery wet day at Blagdon. 

With the slope and wind advantage in the first half, Crediton took a 15-0 lead to the second period. 

However, Teignmouth responded with three tries of their own but the difference was that they converted theirs and we didn’t. 

That said, this is a decent result against a team whose First Fifteen play in South West One and we know they can be beaten on their own ground later in the season. 

Macauley Jones, Keith McLoughlin and Ben Phillips were the try scorers. However, despite losing we still remain joint top of Devon Merit Table Two with Torquay Second Fifteen who also lost at Honiton. Both Torquay and ourselves have identical records.

CREDITON COLTS 48

DEVONPORT COLTS 0

The Colts put in their best performance of the season with a stylish victory over Devonport to get their Plate Competition off to a flying start. 

Knowing that they would need a decent lead playing with the elements in the first half, the Colts reached the break 26 points to the good. 

They then played simple possession rugby in the second period and continued to build their score. 

Eight tries in total came from Josh Goldman and Jack Woodcock with two apiece, and there was one each for Bobby Saunders, Jack Reed, Charlie Stevens and Deyan Tomic. Fly-half Josh Davey landed four conversions.

Fixtures, tomorrow, Saturday, December 5 are as follows: First Fifteen v Sidmoth (home) sponsored by Crediton Milling Company; Second Fifteen v Sidmouth Seconds (away); Third Fifteen v Sidmouth Thirds (away) and Colts v Plymouth Argaum (away).

PH