Keynsham 27 - Crediton 7

IT was somewhat of a flat performance from the First XV when we faced Keynsham on October 23.

We never recovered from an early 0-12 deficit which by the interval had been upped to 0-15.

The second half showed some improvement despite a couple of injuries forcing a reshuffle.

Ethan Langson-Justice, on as replacement hooker, bagged our try but it was little more than a consolation. Ollie Avery-Wright converted.

Overall a disappointing performance considering the huge effort put in against Devonport two weeks earlier.

Crediton Seconds 41 - Paignton Seconds 7

The Quins have had a tough start to the season and in this game managed a very welcome home win against fellow strugglers Paignton.

Whilst the scoreline is somewhat emphatic, it has to be said that Paignton were no pushover and indeed for the majority of the first half, they dominated possession and territory.

The Quins got off to a flier and the opening 10 minutes put the visiting defence under pressure.

It was lock Josh Lee who was driven over from a maul to put us ahead after eight minutes. Fly-half Tom Ronchetti added the extras.

Within two minutes, Lee was again the scorer, this time a try worthy of a fleet footed fly-half as he sold a couple of dummies and ran in from 15 metres to put us 12-0 ahead.

To their credit, Paignton rallied and for much of the remainder of the half, dominated possession and territory whilst we had a propensity to concede penalties.

Paignton took several options to kick for the corner but in all honesty nothing came of it. Perhaps the need to get points on the board would have served them better, especially as they were less than two scores behind.

The point was proved even more so when a breakaway try from centre Tom O’Donnell, whose strength and pace took him half the length of the pitch to score at the posts, Ronchetti landed a simple conversion right on half-time for a 19-0 lead.

The Quins dominated the second half but it was never one way traffic, the early second half pressure found prop Kevin Ellis somehow work his way to the back of a driving maul and poach yet another forward try.

This was followed very quickly by yet another breakaway try from replacement centre Dean Seals who made it from half-way to the corner… just - and suddenly we were 29-0 ahead.

Not to be outdone, Paignton finally found a way through the Quins defence and a solo effort from their strong running fullback brought a try that they thoroughly deserved, the conversion took the score to 29-7.

From here on in it was evenly matched although we did have periods of pressure on the visitors line but coughed up a couple of penalties to offer an easy exit.

Gradually, the pressure began to tell and replacement No8 Mark Nott making a very welcome return, touched down from a driving maul and the scoring was rounded off with another Nott try, converted by Ronchetti.

A good all round performance with a thoroughly deserved win. Paignton though worked hard to make life difficult and indeed at times looked sharp outside. However, apart from one occasion, they could not quite break down the solid defence.

Exeter Athletic 38 - Crediton Thirds 13

The Athletic managed to put out a Second XV for the first time this season and it became clear how they managed it, well it is quite simple when the First XV does not have a game.

The Thirds put in a great performance in the first half and were ahead at the interval 13-10 in an evenly contested game. However, both sides used replacements and it would seem that the home side brought in their players from the First XV.

That being the case, it is hugely disappointing and goes against the spirit of the competition. That is not sour grapes, our boys enjoyed the game despite a few injuries. It is very disappointing that a club has to do this in order to win a game.

For the record, Elliott White grabbed the try and Hayden Hill converted and landed two penalties.

Crediton Colts 24 - Barnstaple Colts 19

The Colts bounced back after the disappointment of their exit from the National Cup two weeks previously with a hard-earned win against visiting Barnstaple.

Barnstaple started strongly and managed to control possession and work their way up the “Tuckers” pitch slope having received the opening kick off.

Our defence was having to work hard and did well to absorb all that was being thrown at it.

The visitors bright opening was snuffed out on 10 minutes when a break from Tariq Sayers got us within striking distance. A couple of close range picks from the forwards resulted in No8 Monty Sorrell crossing for a try. Haydn Gosling added the extras from the touchline to put us 7-0 up.

The game settled down with both sides looking to play and we were going about things with an intensity that had been somewhat lacking in the last outing. Barnstaple were struggling to find a way through with Tom Hunt in particular putting in some crunching tackles in the midfield.

The back row of Caleb Oliver, Brady May and Scott Goodman were also prominent.

In attack we were mixing things up as necessary, keeping the ball tight, spreading it wide and playing for territory but it took until the half-hour mark for the next score. A sharp handling move put Sayers in some space again and he made good ground down the right.

Fixing the final defender 15 metres out he passed inside to Freddie Blackburn to finish the move off. Gosling converted for 14-0.

Barnstaple responded almost immediately and after some smart work from their pack scored under the posts on the stroke of half-time making it 14-7 at the break.

We’d played very well for the opening 35 minutes and should perhaps have been more than one score ahead and the lads knew that it would take hard work to maintain the lead playing up the slope.

Our approach at the start of the second period remained positive and was rewarded with a further score on 41 minutes.

We were keeping the ball well and after some good phases Sayers found himself with the ball in bit of space once more. This time he used his strength to crash over himself, capping off a fine afternoon. Gosling added the extras to make it 21-7.

Barnstaple were not out of the game by any means and were working hard but our defence was forcing errors from them when they got into good positions. Our exits and kick chases were working well too, pinning the visitors back in their own territory.

It was Barnstaple who scored next though, and at 21-14 with 20 minutes to go, the home support was getting a bit jittery. Nerves were eased on 55 minutes when Gosling slotted a penalty to put us two scores ahead, 24-14. That completed our scoring and gave Gosling a 100 per cent record with the boot.

We managed the final 15 minutes pretty well although it was Barnstaple who had the final word when, right on full-time, an unconverted try made the final score 24-19, our first victory over Barnstaple Colts since January 2014.

The Kirton boys should be pleased with their performance, it was a real squad effort with everyone making telling contributions. Well done lads, keep working hard and keep setting your standards!

Today the First XV host Lydney in a league game sponsored by Ricki Stevens, The Quins travel to Okehampton and the Thirds entertain Honiton Seconds. At the time of writing, the Colts were due to travel to Plymstock but that game has been called off and we are looking for a replacement fixture.

Paul Harris