March 5, 2022
AT long last and after a run of seven consecutive defeats, we managed a bonus point victory against a spirited Newent side.
The form book was somewhat turned on its head as the visitors were on a run of five consecutive wins including the league leaders.
The performance suitably matched the afternoon sunshine and although the tries came from the forwards, the backs entertained with some sparkling handling.
It was an excellent all round performance to put on for the visit of the Devon RFU President Ken Jeffery who was suitably impressed, not only with the game but also the pre and post match hospitality provided by the Club.
We got off to a quick fire start when the first scrum awarded to the visitors was taken against the head as the Newent pack were sent backwards at a rate.
The box kick was chased down but Newent conceded the lineout from which the pack drove over for Tom Luxmoore to get the scoreboard moving.
Ollie Avery-Wright landed a difficult conversion and we were seven points up after five minutes.
We were dominating territory and possession and certainly at scrum time the Newent pack looked fragile.
It was no surprise when we drove another scrum forward and No 8 Ben Wonnacott picked up but was caught just short of the line.
However, Lock Luke Mingo was on hand to receive the offload and dive over. The conversion drifted wide and we were looking pretty comfortable and as yet the visitors had not been seen as an attacking force.
We continued to press but to be fair, Newent defended very well and certainly managed to close down the threats when we moved the ball wide.
Mingo was a real driving force with his powerful carries and gained ground whenever he had the ball and generally the back row covered acres of ground but it was the power of all eight that proved impossible to combat.
Another scrum penalty on the half hour led to yet another lineout 15 metres out.
This time however, a perfect training ground move was put into practice and again it was Mingo the scorer as he took the first pass off the lineout and went around the blind side, catching the Newent defence completely off guard to touch down in the corner.
A difficult conversion was just off target and we went to the interval with a 17 point lead but still looking for the bonus point. We really should have bagged that point shortly before the interval when we won yet another Newent scrum but to their credit, the visitors managed a turnover and cleared to safety.
The second half saw something of a resurgent Newent side and they came more into the game and an early penalty gave them an opportunity with a kick to the corner but, having won the lineout, the attack came to nothing as the ball was knocked on as they tried to go wide.
The visitors cause was not helped with a yellow card for a deliberate knock on. The penalty was kicked to the corner and once again it was the classic catch and drive and a perfect set up for Mingo to complete his hat-trick, OAW duly converted and the bonus point was secured.
That was the call to arms for Newent who could easily have completely collapsed but they decided to take the game to us and it certainly worked for them when their scrum half Fraser Minchella was quick enough to intercept a pass from a lineout and make ground before being tackled.
However, we were penalised at the breakdown and the visiting No 8 took a quick tap and go but was tackled short of the line but managed to get the ball away for centre Dan Fletcher to cross for the try, the conversion was missed.
A high tackle on OAW brought a penalty and the decision to go for points was a sensible one even though the kick was almost on the half way line.
OAW duly added the three points which would hopefully take the sting out of the Newent game. However, the visitors finished strongly and, had they been a little more accurate, might well have added to their score before the game went into injury time.
They put us under pressure and we were forced to concede penalties and a quick tap and go caught us on the hop and flanker George Phelps went over close to the posts to give fly half Doug Long a simple conversion to end the game.
Teignmouth Second XV 5 - Crediton Quins 49
Bottom of the table Teignmouth were completely outclassed by this Crediton Quins side.
The strength of the Quins scrum had to be somewhat restrained as Teigns simply could not cope and would probably have gone to non-contested had we continued to shove them around.
Chris Hooper bagged four tries and there was one apiece for Macca Jones, Ethan Power and Josh Atkinson, all of which were converted by Tom Ronchetti.
Crediton Colts 36 - Okehampton Colts 5
Games between these two sides are always extremely competitive and this fixture was no exception.
In the end a comfortable victory for the Colts with two tries each for Freddie Blackburn, Louie Gulley and Tariq Sayers with Blackburn landing three conversions.
The result puts the Colts in a good position in the Devon Colts Shield four points behind Brixham and with a game in hand. Their trip to Brixham tomorrow is sure to be an interesting game.
The First XV travel to North Petherton today and the Third XV host Exeter Saracens Seconds.
Paul Harris
• See more images from the match in the current issue of the Crediton Courier.