Saturday, October 4

WITHYCOMBE 11

CREDITON 10

AS nail-biters go, this would have seen fingers chewed to the knuckles as two 100 per cent league records clashed at Raleigh Park and of course something had to give.

As it was, Withies eventually came out on top by the slenderest of margins and indeed the result could have gone either way right to the final whistle.

Playing up the slope and against the strong wind, Crediton had the better of the opening exchanges and but for a foot in touch, right-wing Devon Hosegood almost broke clear for a try as early as the second minute.

All the early pressure came from the Crediton side but they were unable to break through some excellent defensive work by the home side.

Line-outs were a bit of a lottery in the strong wind but certainly in the scrum, Withies did have the better of things although they did concede a number of penalties at the scrum.

It was against the run of play when the hosts took the lead, a turnover at a Crediton scrum saw Withycombe attack the blind side and score in the bottom corner.

The conversion failed but fly-half Glen Channing did land a penalty some minutes later for an 8-0 lead.

It looked as though it would be a long 20 minutes for Crediton to hold out against the elements as Withycombe began to up their game.

However, Kirton battled back and gradually pegged Withies in their own "22" forcing play down the right where fly-half Mark Lee was driven over in the corner for a try and he then produced an outstanding conversion from the touchline against the wind.

Within minutes, Crediton thought they had scored again when scrum-half Mike Pearce was tackled at the base of the scrum but as he went down managed to release the ball and chip over the top of the Withycombe defenders. Lee was on-hand to gather the ball and race in under the posts.

Unfortunately, play was brought back for what was considered to be a forward movement of the ball in the tackle on Pearce, although it was kicked before it hit the ground.

The second half developed into a pretty dour affair with the home side dominating scrums and in all honesty looking the more likely to score, they always seem to play better up the slope than down!

However, it was a Lee penalty which put Crediton ahead for the first time but this was cancelled out within minutes by one from Channing.

With both sides looking for a decisive score, Crediton thought they might have got the chance when another penalty came their way. This time Lee's kick missed by a fraction.

Withycombe then thought they had the game won when the game entered its final play and Channing desperately wanted to clear to touch but his kick was a poor one and was gathered by Hosegood who made ground to the Crediton "22" where another penalty was given for failing to release at the tackle.

DEVONPORT SECONDS 13

CREDITON 'QUINS 12

As if one tight game in the weekend was not enough, the 'Quins defeat at Devonport, also by a single point, was a bitter pill to swallow.

Crediton Seconds travelled to Devonport Services with a side showing seven changes to the previous week due to injuries and unavailabilities, but due to the strength in depth of players this season at Crediton, this was still a side more than capable of getting a result against Devonport.

It was Services who started the game in more positive fashion and they were soon on the offensive with sustained periods of play in the Crediton "22" metres area.

With only seven minutes on the clock Devonport were rewarded for their efforts when Crediton were penalised for holding on in the contact area with the penalty being duly converted for a cheap three points being given away by Crediton.

The 'Quins immediately rallied but never got any momentum into their game as they were finding it difficult to string any phases of play together as Devonport had the edge in the set pieces and also in the physicality stakes.

However, with the possession they were getting, the Crediton backs showed how dangerous they could be, especially out wide where only last ditch tackles from Devonport defenders denied them from getting onto the scoresheet.

Right on half-time Devonport increased their lead and again it came from a Crediton mistake.

Having defended soundly in their own five metres area, the Crediton players failed to defend the side of a ruck allowing the Services scrum-half to snipe through under the posts for a simple converted try, making the half-time score 10-0 to Services.

Crediton started the second half with much more determination and were soon stringing together several phases of play testing the Devonport defence, which was standing solid but it was finally breached after 48 minutes when good ball retention gave the Crediton backs quality ball to play off and which was spun wide to find full-back John Cheffins coming into the line to go over for a try out wide.

Crediton maintained the pressure on Devonport but were still finding it difficult to break down a determined defence.

The breakthrough came after 70 minutes when again, following controlled phases of play, gave Crediton good ball to play off and Ed Marshall powered through several tackles to score under the posts giving scrum-half Tom Ronchetti a simple conversion to give Crediton a 12-10 lead with 10 minutes of play to go.

Failure to again compete in the contact area pushed Crediton back into their own "22" metres area where Devonport were fighting for everything.

Crediton succumbed to this pressure when once again they gave away a silly penalty right in front of the posts for holding on in the contact area to give Devonport a simple three points, making the score 13-12 to Devonport with minutes to play.

Crediton were immediately on the attack again looking to get the winning score and got their chance when they were awarded a penalty just inside the Devonport half.

With no time to go for the line-out Tom Ronchetti attempted a long range penalty which unfortunately had the distance but just drifted wide, giving Devonport Services a 13-12 victory.

A disappointing result for Crediton as this was a game they could, and should, have won.

CREDITON HORNETS 3

WITHYCOMBE

SECONDS 21

The Hornets took on a well-drilled and organised Withycombe Second Fifteen, assisted by a few players from the senior academy.

Crediton competed really well for the first half-hour. Just before half-time though they were undone by some quick thinking by Withycombe when a penalty, five metres out, was chipped over the Crediton defence, fielded and dotted down.

Gareth Kinch kicked a penalty on the stroke of half-time for Crediton who turned around 7-3 down.

By now, Crediton had their regular third team on the pitch and were struggling to compete fairly at the breakdowns and several penalties were conceded leading to sustained pressure on Crediton in their "22".

A chip over the top of a flat defence and a mix up in the home defence allowed Withycombe to sneak in and touch down.

Great effort was made by Crediton to get back into the game, some handling errors and a resolute, organised, defence kept them out.

Withycombes' final try came from a maul driven over the Crediton goal-line and touched down. The final score was 3-21.

Withycombe were worthy winners but I am sure they would feel flattered by the score-line.

Well done all, a great game of rugby. Withies Second Fifteen have proved a strong outfit this season, already scoring more than 70 points in a game on two occasions, and no doubt they anticipated a similar victory from this game.

However, they found it tougher going against the Hornets who battled throughout. Former Crediton skipper, Jay Harris, dusted his boots off and came out of retirement for the day as did Mike Grigg and Alan Westcott adding a bit of experience and pace to the Hornets.

CREDITON COLTS 8

OKEHAMPTON COLTS 28

The Colts were beaten by Okehampton in their third Merit Table game of the season.

• Forthcoming games for tomorrow, Saturday, October 11: First Fifteen v Exeter Saracens (away); Second Fifteen v Okehampton Seconds (home); Third Fifteen v OPM Seconds (away) and Colts Fifteen TBA

Next Saturday, October 18: First Fifteen v Falmouth (home); Second Fifteen v Cullompton Seconds (away); Third Fifteen v Cullompton Thirds (away) and Colts Fifteen TBA. PH