Okehampton Thirds 17
Bideford Seconds 5
ANOTHER late cancellation, this time by Torquay, led to a re-arranged fixture against Bideford second team, the only available side in the pool.
Okehampton, not having played for three weeks, were raring to go and at full strength. A late cry off by Perry Vallance due to illness meant dragging Dave Bickle from the 16th hole to play as scrum half.
An aggressive start saw Okehampton dictate play, spending the first 20 minutes in the opposition half and unlucky not to have scored early on after a break developed on the left. Only a poor final pass prevented the score.
Both packs fought hard in the tight, which led to highly contested scrummaging and lineout.
With Bickle having a good all round game, providing quick ball for the backs, it was only a matter of time before Okehampton scored, Lee Pengelly going over in the corner. This unconverted score produced the only points of the first half.
At the start of the second half Okehampton upped their play in expectation of a more determined half from the home team.
Pressure was maintained on Bideford by good forward drives, darting runs and good tactical kicking from Bickle, keeping Okehampton in their 22.
Bideford were forced to run ball from their own line and a poor pass led to an interception and try under the posts by Toby Daniel, converted by Adam Holiday.
Bideford were next to score with a try starting deep in their half when the number eight picked up from behind the scrum and went all the way up the right hand side to score. A well-deserved try, however, tired third team legs led to poor tackling.
A disallowed try by Bickle could have settled the game, but Okehampton had to wait another ten minutes before he chipped and recovered to score in the corner.
There was a final disallowed try when Hayden Leigh went over in the corner and was judged to have hit the corner flag before grounding the ball.