CREDITON 3 - CULLOMPTON 29

AFTER the euphoria of the victory over St Ives the previous week, it was back to earth with a bump in this Mid Devon Derby against Cullompton on December 17.

Despite the scoreline, the sides were evenly matched with the exception of a 10-minute spell midway through the second half when we lost our way a bit and Cully grabbed three tries to take the game away from us.

The opening quarter was a battle of the defences and the scoreboard laid idle until the 20th minute when former Crediton centre Ross Toms fired the visitors ahead with a penalty when we were caught offside on our “22”.

The lead only lasted five minutes as Mark Lee levelled things with a penalty when Cully collapsed a driving maul.

We had been getting the better of things at both the lineout and scrum and when the interval arrived with the scores level, it was anybodies game.

The start of the second half was all about Cullompton defending their line which they did extremely well, underlining why they have the meanest defence in the league.

There were occasions when we felt we should have got something from that early pressure especially when a driving maul appeared to be pulled down. However, nothing came of it and the Cully line escaped intact.

The game changed on 54 minutes when the visitors made their first incursion into our “22” in the second half. They looked after possession through several phases and were eventually rewarded with a try from fly-half Alex Brooks, Toms converted.

Within two minutes visiting full-back Marcus Busch went in under the posts followed by hooker Jeremy Turner forcing his way through, Toms converting that one for a 22-3 lead.

That was game over and although we did battle back into the game, we simply could not penetrate the defence and in the closing minutes, we lost our own scrum 10 metres out and scrum-half Tom Frankpitt went over, with Toms converting.

Whilst there is no doubt Cully were full value for their victory, the scoreline did flatter them. We matched them for more than an hour and simply lost it during a 10-minute period when we were all over the place defensively.

With the first two games of 2017 against league leaders, Devonport away and third placed University at home, we will have played the top three teams twice.

Certainly Devonport can be beaten although they seem to be on a run at the moment but, having lost narrowly at home in the league earlier in the season, we did beat them in the Devon Cup.

There is no reason why we cannot travel to Plymouth in the belief that we can get a result. As for the University, much will depend on the side they bring out, their policy of putting out sides of such varying ability is having the effect of distorting the league.

Most clubs find the situation somewhat frustrating but we all have to accept it and move on.

CULLOMPTON SECONDS 0 - CREDITON QUINS 18

Crediton ‘Quins travelled to Cullompton for a Devon Merit Table One league encounter, looking to bounce back from their previous week’s home defeat by Brixham and also avenge the earlier home defeat to Cully back in September.

Right from the start it was evident that both teams were evenly matched but it was the ‘Quins who slowly gained the advantage in terms of territory and possession.

Strong ball carrying by the Crediton forwards constantly put the home side under pressure and when Cullompton were penalised for handling on the floor, Tom Ronchetti landed the penalty on 23 minutes.

The ‘Quins added to their score after 34 minutes when flanker Sam Rowe made a strong line break only to be tackled short but the support was on-hand and quickly recycled the ball from the contact area, moved it out wide to John Cheffings who went over in the corner for an unconverted try, making the half-time score 8-0 to Crediton.

During half-time the referee informed Crediton that Cullompton had lost a couple of front row players due to injury so the second half would have to be played with uncontested scrums.

Unfortunately this negated any advantage that Crediton were getting in the set scrums so Crediton had to slightly change their tactics.

The second half started as the first had finished with Crediton continuing to pressurise a stubborn Cullompton defence.

On 55 minutes this pressure again told and following a good patient build-up which involved numerous phases of play, Dan Yendall went over for a well-deserved try with Tom Ronchetti adding the extras.

The last score of the game came right on full-time. Cullompton were again penalised for handling on the floor and Tom Ronchetti converted his second penalty of the game to make the final score 18-0 to Crediton.

Credit to Cullompton their defence was immense all afternoon, as indeed was Crediton’s, but the way the Crediton players controlled their territory and also their patience when in the right field positions saw them come out on top and get a well-deserved victory.

CREDITON COLTS 17 - IVYBRIDGE COLTS 7

Whilst the ‘Quins had a good win at Cullompton, the result of the day must surely be the Colts victory over Cup favourites Ivybridge.

The magnitude of the win cannot be over-stated as Ivybridge are through to the National Colts Cup fourth Round and were, and probably still are, clear favourites to win the Devon Colts Cup this year having so far been unbeaten in Devon this season.

The Cup competition is played as a Merit Table, six teams (Barnstaple, Crediton, Exeter, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge and Newton Abbot) all playing on a home and away basis. The top two play off for the final.

We have put ourselves in a good position after the first game and if we display that sort of form then there is no reason why we cannot be in that top two.

Full-back David Gray and centre Callum Barrett each grabbed tries with fly-half Josh Davey landing two conversions and a penalty.

The Crediton RFC Committee would like to wish all our members and supporters a very Happy Christmas and New Year and look forward to seeing you all in 2017.

Paul Harris