HONITON RFC 1ST XV 22-19 CREDITON RFC 2ND XV

THE 2nd XV welcomed Honiton to Blagdon and wasted no time setting the tone.

Straight from the kick‑off, we strung together some sharp phase play and quickly found ourselves camped on Honiton’s five-metre line.

After a spell of patient forward pressure, scrum‑half George Baxter spotted a gap and darted through for the opening score, which was duly converted for a 7-0 lead.

Honiton hit back with some direct, powerful running that earned them a five-metre scrum of their own. A strong shove saw them drive over to level the scoreboard. The game then settled into a competitive back‑and‑forth battle, with both sides trading territory.

It was Honiton who struck next from a lineout inside our ‘22. A slick off‑the‑top move opened space out wide, and they crossed for their second try, pushing the visitors ahead 7-14.

Just before the break, we surged back onto the attack and after sustained pressure, prop Macca Jones powered over to bring the sides level at 14-14 at half‑time.

The second half began with the visitors looking to assert themselves. Strong carries and quick recycling saw them break through for another try and, although the conversion drifted wide, it gave them a 14-19 advantage.

Scrum time was a challenge for our pack of eight but fortunes turned when a huge shove earned a turnover. Number 8 Chris Hooper picked from the base and bulldozed his way over for our third score of the afternoon and scores were tied once more at 19-19.

As the clock wound down, an unfortunate penalty gave Honiton a shot at goal, which they slotted to edge ahead 19-22 and despite a determined late push from Crediton, Honiton held firm to close out a fiercely contested match.

This was a fantastic game of rugby played in great spirit, with plenty of positives for the 2nds to take forward after the Christmas break.