Crediton 3rds 48 v Okehampton 3rds 22

NEIGHBOURS Okehampton were the visitors for this 3rd XV friendly and, despite the late cancellation of the 2nd XV game, the temptation to include any of 2s in the starting line up was resisted although a couple did make it on to the bench.

We came flying out of the blocks and for the first five minutes were able to apply pressure on the Okes who eventually conceded a penalty in their desperate attempts to keep us out.  

We went for the corner and won good ball which was played through the forwards for a couple of phases. Some good work from Deyan Tomic created a bit of space for Neil Collins to go over in the corner.  The conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

Within a couple of minutes we scored again. Having secured the kick off, the ball was spread wide. 

After his impressive debut last week, outside centre Nico Fraternali made a break and managed to offload in the tackle to full back Ashley Bradnock who galloped in at the posts. Hayden Hill added the extras for a 12 - 0 lead. 

No sooner had scoreboard operator Clive Tonkin sat down, he was back on his feet again as Fraternali intercepted a pass on our 10m line. There was some nervousness among his team mates and the crowd as he slowed up thinking the referee had blown the whistle but in the end it was a simple run in.  Hill converted again for 19 - 0 with just 10 minutes gone.

Our start clearly had the visitors stunned and a few supporters who arrived slightly late couldn’t quite believe it either!  

As the game settled down, Oke started to get themselves into it, and with their pack looking strong were able to create some problems.  We looked a little sharper outside but seemed intent on getting into an arm wrestle.

Our approach did provide a further score on 25 minutes.  

A good catch and drive following a penalty kick to the corner gave a good platform for Tomic to make another powerful break. A couple of phases later prop Matt Moyes buried over and it was 24 - 0.

The next 10 minutes was all Okehampton and, with them camped in our ’22’ we gave away a penalty at scrum time.  Okes opted for another scrum which resulted in a further penalty.  We managed to hold firm on the third scrum but conceded a try as the visiting scrum half broke blind and dived over. With the tricky conversion slotted successfully it was 24 - 7 with half time rapidly approaching.

There was time though for one final score before the break. A good turn over from the kick off gave us possession and scrum half Elliot White exploited a gap in the defence to score.  An entertaining half came to close and we were 29 - 7 up having played some really good rugby

The second half started with us again applying pressure in the visitors ’22’ but after conceding a couple of penalties we were soon back in our own territory.  Okes were able to string some phases together and get on the front foot.  They were looking like a different team and we were starting to lose our discipline and the penalty count was rising.  Inevitably it was Okes who scored next after their pack rumbled over for a try on 52 minutes to make it 29 - 12

We remained under the cosh for the next 10 minutes or so and were just about soaking up all that the visitors were throwing at us. With a penalty advantage in our favour, we looked to get the ball wide.  A quality pass from Hill sent Kieran Jones on his way.  Having beaten a couple of defenders, Jones passed back inside to Hill who then chipped cleverly for Tyler Farley to gather and score.  Okes found themselves a player down after the ref spotted Bobby Moore style slide tackle in the build up.  Hill missed the straight forward conversion but 5 minutes later converted his own try after scything through the visiting defence.?With 10 minutes left, it was 41 -12  To their credit Okes were still battling hard and arguably playing some of their best rugby of the match.  Their forwards were rewarded with another try after several drives close to the line before we responded with a try from Josh Woodland, converted by Farley.

The last word though went to Okes when on 80 minutes they took a quick tap and scored to make the final score 48 - 22.

Despite the wet and windy conditions that deteriorated as the match went on, this was a cracking game of rugby.  A couple of the tries we scored were as good as any you will see all season – well played lads!

Jay Harris