CREDITON 27 - TRURO 18

A RUN of five successive defeats finally came to a halt last Saturday with a workman-like bonus point victory over mid-table Truro in a game which saw the lead change hands several times.

It has to be said that neither side were at what would be considered full strength and even on the morning of the game, the flu bug took two Crediton players out of the squad.

However, there were some impressive performances, none more so than Robbie Guthrie, making his first start in the First Fifteen at flanker, Maculay Jones a last minute call up at prop and Rob Milton stepping in at full-back was impressive, especially under the high ball in treacherous conditions.

It is perhaps unfair simply to pick out three players when the entire team stepped up to the plate and gave their all and no-one, including our guests from Truro, would begrudge us the win.

The opening 10 minutes were all Crediton, the visitors were unable to get any sort of foothold in the game as wave after wave of attacks were held at bay with some desperate defending and, just when it looked as though they had weathered the storm, we did strike.

Several phases through rucks had failed to get us over the whitewash until a quick change of tactics saw the ball out wide and Milton was on-hand to dot down the first try of the game.

By this time, the visitors had not even managed to get into our half let alone get a sniff of our “22” although that changed straight from the restart.

It was now their turn to put some pressure on through their forwards and for a while our defence was looking fragile and it was no real surprise when a driving maul took Truro over the line under the posts, the simple conversion gave them the lead.

With their tails up, Truro continued to press and again through the strength of the bulkier forwards, they bagged a second try, the conversion hitting the post.

Play continued from end-to-end but as last week, we tended to concede too many penalties at critical moments, allowing the opposition easy exits from their “22”.

However, we did pull a try back with a quality driving maul off a lineout which ended with flanker Chris Hooper claiming the try to take us to the interval behind by two points.

Within minutes of the restart, the visitors extended their lead with a well-taken long-range penalty but the response from the youthful Crediton side was to keep the ball in-hand and run it through the backs and whilst it did not directly bring rewards, it kept our game flowing.

The odd handling error gave the visitors the scrum and a chance to clear their lines but we continued to run it back and cause them problems.

Eventually though we did get the score that we deserved, a poor clearance gave us a lineout 15 metres out and the resulting catch and drive saw hooker Dan Yendall over the line. Oli Down made no mistake with the conversion for a two point advantage.

The lead did not last long and another long-range penalty put Truro ahead by a point, only for Down to land a penalty to restore the two-point advantage.

At 20-18 we could have perhaps justifiably run the clock down but such was the determination in the side, the quest for a bonus point fourth try was the priority.

As the game was reaching the closing stages, we began to get the upper-hand at scrum time and when we pinched one of their put ins 15 metres out, some quick thinking from Hooper saw him dash over before the Truro defence had time to react.

Down completed the scoring with the conversion and at the same time denied the visitors a losing bonus point which, in all honesty, they probably deserved.

Despite the conditions, this was a really entertaining match and both sides deserve credit for the manner in which they approached the game.

The win took us up one place at the expense of our neighbours, Tiverton, who lost at Falmouth. It is often said that league tables don’t lie, however, neither do they fully explain the reality.

When you come to analyse our position, four wins and 10 losses would indicate a disastrous half season but a closer inspection of the other numbers, our points difference for example (-29) which considering having lost three-quarters of our games is remarkable.

Add to that a few facts that will no doubt surprise most people. We have actually scored more tries than we have conceded in the league this season, and that half of our defeats have been by one score or less.

Perhaps one area that should be addressed is the conversion rate which currently stands at less than a one third success rate.

That is not intended as a criticism but merely making the point that points kicked are equally as important as tries scored.

One final statistic is that we have the third highest total of bonus points in the league, eight in total, which is the equivalent of two wins.

Table toppers St Ives and third placed Devonport each have 10 bonus points. Five of our bonus points are from losing by seven points or fewer.

That should tell everyone that we are as good as anyone else in this league.

Last year, the second half of the season saw the resurgence and we won nearly half of our games during that time to finish in a comfortable position.

NEWTON ABBOT SECONDS 52 - CREDITON SECONDS 12

Merit Table leaders Newton Abbot proved too strong for the ‘Quins although they did not find it as easy as the scoreline suggests.

Deyan Tomic and Ben Lumley each scored a try with Tom Ronchetti converting one.

Tries from Josh Woodland and Josh Kenshole were the Colts only reward in a 10-26 home defeat against Tiverton.

Finally, on behalf of all at Crediton RFC may I wish all “Courier” readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing many of you in 2018.

Paul Harris