Withycombe Seconds 10
Okehampton Seconds 34
WITHYCOMBE away was never going to be easy for the Okes, and to start with their fears were well-founded.
Playing up the slope against the wind the Okes had to work hard and on one flurry into Withycombe's 22 they were awarded a five-metre scrum and number eight John Stevens finished off a pushover try.
It was all Withycombe now on the attack, with the Okes defending well, but they finally managed to score an unconverted try. Then at the end of the half Steve Richards broke clear to score another unconverted try.
In the second half down the slope the Okes looked on top with veteran fly-half Mark Curtis the key to unlocking the Withycombe defence with some probing kicks. This led to good territory and some hard running by John Stevens, Julian Courtier and Steve Penna, which resulted in quality tries for Dave Wills, Steve Richards, Simon Griffiths and Pete Herod-Taylor. Dave Wills converted two. Credit to Withycombe as they battled well to the end and scored an unconverted try, even though the uncontested scrums knocked some of the flow out of the game.
• This week the Okehampton Seconds play North Tawton at home and take advantage of their first leg lead in the cup.