DEVONPORT 38 - CREDITON 12

HAVING endured a weekend without rugby due to the weather, Crediton’s First and Second teams travelled to Devonport on January 27 and for many players it was their first taste of playing a full game on an artificial surface.

The First Fifteen were the first to step out onto the pitch to take on the current second placed side who seem desperate for promotion.

Inevitably, whilst Devonport have the opportunity to train and play on the pitch every week, they certainly had an advantage and it took us a while to adjust to the pace of the pitch and the game.

Indeed it was the home side that took an early lead with a converted try within the first five minutes, followed soon after by a penalty.

However, once we had got ourselves together we did play some decent rugby with both Oli Down and Josh Davey showing a turn of pace which exposed the home defence on occasions although we never managed to make that important breakthrough.

The defence was excellent again and with Devonport dominating scrums and a fly-half who controlled the game, we were often on the back foot.

A try right on half-time was the last thing we needed, at 10 points adrift at the interval we were in the game but that additional seven pointer was a bitter pill to swallow.

Devonport then grabbed another seven point score early in the second half and went in search of their bonus point.

However, we were not going to make life easy for them and even shook them substantially with a two try burst in the space of five minutes.

Fly-half Josh Davey picked up a loose pass 30 metres out and raced to the line to score just as the cover tackle came in. He had earlier made a superb break from 40 metres out but with the defence bearing down, the support was not there.

A line-out 10 metres off the home line ended with a driving maul and skipper Ben Wonnacott managed to squeeze a pass to Oli Down who went over and then converted.

The deficit was reduced to 12 points and it was our turn to go in search of a bonus point. By this time we had begun to exert pressure on their scrum and with a penalty we opted for a five metre scrum.

The ball was won and the option to go down the blind side proved a mistake as the pass was intercepted by the home left winger, some felt he was possibly offside but nonetheless his pace took him up the left touchline for their bonus point score.

With time running out the home side bagged a fifth try and again it was pace and good handling plus an excellent touchline conversion from their ever-accurate fly-half to give them a wider margin of victory than perhaps they deserved.

On a conventional grass pitch it is doubtful that they would have managed five tries but on this type of surface, pace is everything and it does take some adjusting to.

All in all there were some good moments for us and we deserved better.

DEVONPORT SECONDS 41 - CREDITON SECONDS 5

The ‘Quins followed on from the First team game and came off the worse for the experience against a pretty useful side that certainly do not look like a team second from bottom in the Merit Table.

It proved a frustrating afternoon particularly for the forwards who totally outclassed the home pack at scrum time.

With their front row popping up at every scrum irrespective of whose put-in and at the same time constantly wheeling the scrum as we tried to go forward, not once did they get penalised.

In all we could and probably should have had a minimum of 10 penalties and their prop who despite his size, should really have had 10 minutes in the bin having failed a lesson in scrummaging given by his opposite number Macaulay Jones!

That said when we did get possession from the scrum, it was slow and the backs had little room to create anything.

Devonport were far more effective with the ball in hand and ran in seven tries, again pace was the key as well as first up tackles being missed.

Centre Dan Cooper offered a ray of hope with an excellent solo try from 30 metres out but that was as good as it got.

Whilst the result and performance was disappointing it has to be said that had the scrums been controlled as they should have been, it is doubtful that Devonport would have had as much ball and territory as they ultimately enjoyed.

The penalty count against them would have cost them dear.

Former Colts skipper and First Fifteen flanker has played his last game for a while as he jets off to Australia in a few days for some considerable time.

We all wish hime well and will no doubt keep up-to-date with his exploits through social media. Good luck Jake, have a great time.

FIXTURES

Fixtures tomorrow, Saturday, February 3: First Fifteen at home v Falmouth; Second Fifteen at home v Okehampton; Third Fifteen away v Cullompton Thirds.

The Colts were due to play Brixham at home but it seems Brixham Colts have folded.

Paul Harris