CREDITON RFC 1ST XV 15-17 OKEHAMPTON RFC

WE suffered a cruel 15-17 defeat to local rivals Okehampton, with the visitors snatching victory with a penalty in the last 10 minutes of a fiercely contested derby.

From the first whistle, this was never going to be a game for the purists. We came into the match with a clear intention to play with width, move the ball and stretch the Okehampton defence. Instead, Okehampton succeeded in dragging the game into the opposite - a narrow, confrontational battle, exactly the sort of contest they wanted.

Despite never really finding the rhythm or flow of rugby we had planned for, we remained in front for virtually the entire match.

The scrum was under pressure throughout, going backwards on a number of occasions and we found ourselves consistently on the wrong side of the referee's whistle. A 15 to 4 penalty count against us put us under pressure and made it difficult to build any sustained momentum.

Even without finding our best attacking game, we refused to fold and showed plenty of resilience and discipline in open play, keeping Okehampton at arm's length and maintaining the lead as the minutes ticked away.

With time running out the game looked to be heading our way, but in a derby, there is usually a final more twist.

As the match entered its dying stages, Okehampton were awarded another penalty, kept their nerve and converted, finally edging themselves in front at 17–15.

We had been in front for most of the game, taking a 12-7 lead into the break with Ollie Jeffery and Ben Harris both crossing for tries and Josh Davey adding a conversion. A second half penalty from Davey stretched the lead to 15-7 but with a quarter of the game to go our discipline ultimately let us down, with two yellow cards making it difficult.

A converted try from the visitors narrowed the gap to 15-14 before the crucial penalty which saw them snatch the lead.

It was a bitter way to lose, particularly given how much effort had gone into keeping the scoreboard in our favour despite a difficult afternoon at scrum time and the significant penalty count.

Credit must go to Okehampton. They executed their game plan effectively, tying us into a narrow, confrontational contest and preventing us from getting the width and tempo into our game that we had worked towards.

For everyone involved, there will be plenty of frustration, but also plenty to build on. We didn't play the rugby we wanted, yet we were still leading the match right until the closing minutes.

Ultimately, though, derbies are decided by fine margins. And this one came down to one penalty too many.

Scorers: Tries – Ollie Jeffery, Ben Harris; Conversion – Josh Davey; Penalty – Josh Davey.

Rob Avery-Wright