CREDITON RFC 3RD XV 24-10 ILFRACOMBE 1ST XV

THE mighty 3rd XV fought hard to win against top-of-the-table Ilfracombe 1st XV!

As always we knew, Ilfracombe would travel with a strong side to Blagdon, and in the warm-up they looked well drilled and switched on.

The general thoughts in camp this week was to not let them bully us at home and be the dominant team.

Combe scored first with a deserved try after many phases of well-drilled moves. Owen Cooper retaliated, kicking us three points after being awarded a penalty.

Then, Vice Captain Joe Crocker controlled a mighty rolling maul from the back and dropped over the line for a five-pointer. Cameron Vooght then crashed his way over with a pick-and-go at close range making it 13-7 at half-time.

It was clear to see the frustration for our visitors when they began to realise that while we may be a social 3rd XV we are definitely not in this league just to make up the numbers.

We knew we'd have a fight on our hands in the second half and with that in mind on came some reinforcements, in the form of Matt Moyes and Wayne Reed, to strengthen our already dominant scrum. We also tightened up our back three with the introduction of Danny Parcell, Josh Noon and Jack James.

Reed made his presence felt straight away with a trademark pick-and-go, crashing through the defence to score with Cooper converting for a 20-7 lead.

After a yellow card for Combe in the first half, it was our turn in the second with father-and-son duo Wayne and Sam Reed receiving a yellow each and one for Joe Wreford for perhaps getting a little enthusiastic with our strong performance.

Down to 13 men, we had the visitors camped on our five-metre line but great work from Moyes held them up. Captain Ben Rodd led his men well in defence and we repelled a number of attacks, holding up another try over the line.

In the end, after another strong attack from Combe, the defence that had been working so hard was breached and a converted try made it 20-14 with 10 minutes left.

Back up to a full complement, we dug deep and dominated the remainder of the game with rolling mauls making 10 plus metres and a determination from the 3rd XV not to let a well drilled 1st XV get the better of us!

Callum Anthony was ruthless all over the park and contested every line-out , winning a couple against the throw. Elliot Butterfield was strong and aggressive in defence and the centre partnerships of Dan May (who retired 10 years ago) and Chris Baker who is back to his prime worked very well together and wouldn't let much past them!

Games like this are what the 3rd XV need, to prove that we won't roll over for anyone and are never to be underestimated. Ilfracombe were a strong outfit and made us work hard for the win, we wish them all the best for the rest of the season.

Next weekend’s fixtures: 1st XV vs Wadebridge Camels (home); 2nd XV vs Exeter Saracens (away); 3rd XV vs South Molton (away); Colts XV vs South Molton (home).

We look forward to welcoming Leach Brothers and Dave Pollard Transport as our match-day sponsors.