Tavistock First XV 18

Okehampton 15

AFTER three league losses Tavistock proved their bouncebackability with a hard fought win against neighbours Okehampton in front of a large crowd at Sandy Park on Saturday in the first ever league meeting between the two clubs.

In near perfect conditions Tavistock moved to 15-3 up at the break and extended their lead early in the second half to 18-3 before Okehampton fought back to within three points.

The final quarter saw Tavistock having to dig deep to pull off the victory to the relief of players and spectators alike at the final whistle.

Tavistock exerted pressure throughout the game at the set scrum, where they welcomed back Tom Hurdwell after injury, and it was a ball won against the head that brought about the first Tavistock score.

From the resulting maul, flanker Tom Dawe was driven over the line for the try.

Okehampton struck back with a penalty from Lee Carey but this was cancelled out soon after with a penalty from Tavistock?s fly half Josh Sutton after Okehampton had been caught offside.

Further pressure saw Tavistock press the Okehampton line to no avail until the last move of the half when skipper Lee Greatrex skipped over the line to score. Josh Sutton added the conversion.

A second penalty goal was slotted by Josh Sutton early in the second half when Okehampton were penalised at the ruck.

Okehampton then came storming back at Tavistock and scored two tries in quick succession, one from back row Ali Mason and the second from Harry Bushin, which he converted himself.

The remainder of the game was an increasingly tense affair with both teams striving for a score to settle the game. Tavistock brought on fresh legs in the form of Steve Rush replacing Andrew Griffiths and Steve continued to provide a target for the forwards to drive over and secure ruck ball.

When Okehampton did secure possession they found Tavistock in no mood to concede further scores and Paul Greenhill in particular was outstanding.

This week sees Tavistock entertain Tamar Saracens at Sandy Park in the third round of the Powergen National Vase, kick off 2.30pm.