Wellington 17 - Crediton 43
THE Wellington 80 point defeat at St Austell as we all knew was a one off caused by some availability problems. Teams of that calibre don’t get hammered by 80 points under normal circumstances.
Inevitably, that was the case, nine of their First XV squad was not available and those that replaced them whilst they tried hard, proved no match for the league leaders.
The point being that we could simply not let that affect our approach to the game. Wellington are always a tough nut to crack either at home or away and that is how we should view the game. Of course we had a 100 per cent record to protect and our hosts desperately needed to bounce back.
The first half (between Crediton v Wellington on October 1) was a tightly contested affair. We took an early lead with an Ollie Avery-Wright penalty but the home side grabbed the lead with a try.
We responded with an Ed Brady try and an Avery-Wright conversion to lead 10-5 at the interval. Wellington took the lead again early in the second half with a converted try but that is as good as it got for them.
OAW put us ahead with a penalty and from then on we pulled away with tries from No 8 Dan Lee, winger Bobby Jenkin, centre Ross Toms and a penalty try. OAW added a couple of conversions and two more penalties.
Five wins from five games and only two missed bonus points, a tremendous start to the season and the players can be justifiably proud of their performances and achievements so far.
Crediton Seconds 37 - Torrington 15
Two successive wins scoring 10 tries in each game had set the bar pretty high for the Quins but in Torrington, they found the opposition a bit sterner.
Torrie were in no mood to roll over and let us dominate proceedings, indeed they proved solid in defence and were no mugs when it came to attacking either.
They made life difficult for us throughout and whilst we can rejoice at the scoreline, in fairness to our visitors, it perhaps did them a bit of an injustice.
The early stages were very much a question of our attack against a steady defence and it took 15 minutes for the deadlock to be broken and it was scrum half Fenton Davies who was up in support to take the inside pass and score.
Midway through the half, a line out was won and the driving maul was finished off by skipper Chris Hooper for a 10-0 lead.
Any thoughts of an immediate try fest were soon dispelled when Torrington hit back with a well worked try of their own.
Another bit of Crediton pressure drew a penalty which Tom Ronchetti popped over. The Quins kept the pressure on and a third try followed when fullback Freddie Borthen came into the line and his pace and power took him through a couple of tackles to score, Ronchetti added the extras.
Once again though it was Torrington who fought back and grabbed a try shortly before the interval. However, there was still enough time for lock, Josh Atkinson to crash over leaving us 25-10 ahead at the break with a bonus point in the bag.
The second half followed a similar pattern although we did miss out on a couple of chances when some overlaps were ignored but we maintained the pressure and Torrington defended really well and certainly had their moments in attack but for a while, neither side could add to their score. Another attack down the left and it was winger Joe Dodge who cut inside and and cleared a path through to score.
Davies added the final try minutes later, which was converted by Ronchetti. However, the final word went to Torrington as they grabbed their third try.
On the whole a hard earned victory which, with the bonus point, has kept us at the top of the league with maximum points.
Certainly we left a few points out on the pitch but certainly Torrington will cause problems for other clubs in the league. Certainly like the First XV, the Seconds can be proud of their efforts so far. There are some difficult games ahead but the ability is undoubtedly there to match any other side in the league.
Crediton Thirds 12 - Bideford Seconds 31
A really good start from us, running strong and hard up the hill and defending well but in the end their fast backs got the better of us and they ran in a few well worked tries out wide!
Unfortunately it was a yellow card for one of our best tacklers Bradley Baker for using a slightly unorthodox method!
At half-time the introduction of the experienced Wayne Reed to play alongside both of his sons again bolstered our scrum resulting in us sending Bideford backwards rapidly at scrum time!
Our first try came after a good period of pressure on their five meter line resulting in a penalty when John Gurzynski tapped and went over for five points.
Our second try came from Charlie Stevens who finally crashed over after a stunning second half performance, Hayden Hill adding the extras.
A good physical game but the Bideford pace out wide was what did for us. Nonetheless, as always, the players enjoyed the game and look forward to the next one.
Cullompton Colts 15 - Crediton Colts 17
What a game! Supporters of both sides were treated to an excellent display of Colts rugby from two sides who battled hard throughout.
The result could have gone either way and, even when James Howard held his nerve to edge the Kirton lads in front with just a minute or so remaining, you would not have been surprised if there was another twist. Fortunately for us, there wasn’t.
For the opening period it was hard to imagine that this was going to be such a thrilling encounter as the home side hit us hard with wave after wave of attack.
Our defence looked a little passive and fragile and we were struggling to get a foothold in the game. We lacked the intensity of previous weeks and were 12-0 down within 10 minutes thanks to two tries and a conversion and it looked like we were in for a long afternoon.
Conceding the second score kicked us into life and a couple of big hits inspired us into action. We managed to secure possession close to the Cully try line and after a couple of pick and drive attempts were thwarted, prop Charlie Clark powered over.
Howard added the extras and we were back in the game at 12 – 7. The remainder of the half was nip and tuck and that was the score at the break.
We started the second period strongly, and within two minutes of the restart, skipper Ben Baxter had burrowed over for our second try. Howard was again successful with the conversion and we were ahead for the first time, 12-14.
The game continued to be a real tussle as both sides looked to assert some authority on proceedings.
Defences were solid though, with neither side able to breakthrough. We began to concede penalties and with 10 minutes to go, one of these provided a chance for Cullompton to take the lead and with a successful shot at goal they regained their lead 15-14.
With time running out we created a couple of opportunities but couldn’t quite finish them off. The players continued to push and forced Cully into conceding a penalty which Howard coolly converted to secure victory.
This was a cracking game of Colts rugby between two evenly matched sides who gave it absolutely everything.
On Saturday, the First XV have a day off whilst the Seconds travel to Cullompton for the Second XV Cup game.
The Third XV travel to Torquay Seconds for a friendly and the Colts entertain Bideford in a friendly.
Crediton RFC is currently top of the Regional 2 Tribute South West League and also the Counties 3 Tribute Devon East League.
Paul Harris