Devon and Cornwall League Perranporth 3 Tavistock 30 BOTH teams found the elements difficult to deal with and with the wind behind them in the first half Tavistock felt they should have scored more points and reached half time dissatisfied with their performance leading by only eight. Playing against the strong wind in the second half Tavistock changed their style of play to eventually secure a convincing win. From the start Tavistock moved the ball wide but the expansive passes they tried did not come off and they spilled possession on a number of occasions. Tavistock did create a number of opportunities such as when Josh Sutton chipped over the top but winger Barney Owles was unable to cleanly collect the ball and again when Lee Greatrex was foiled on the other wing on a rare occasion the ball reached him. Tavistock did eventually take the lead when their man of the match Doug Lloyd scored a clever individual try. The away side then extended their lead as half time approached with a penalty from Josh Sutton after Perranporth were penalised at the breakdown. The second half saw a different Tavistock performance with the ball being run at the Perranporth defence by Tavistock using short passes and with the forwards and backs combining in all phases. The biggest influence on Tavistock in the second half was an excellent performance by the back row with Duncan Law, together with Will Brown and Matt Cole, continually making ground with their strong running and clever support play; fittingly it was Will who increased the Tavistock lead with a try. From the restart the Tavistock forwards were unable to securely collect the ball, this allowed Perranporth to gain a foothold in Tavistock territory and when the visitors were penalised at the ruck Perranporth got on the scoreboard with a penalty goal from Justin Irons. Tavistock struck back after clever handling from Josh Sutton gave Doug Lloyd a scoring pass for him to get his second try. Tavistock then piled on the pressure and forwards Rob Monk and Andy Hunt both threatened the line but it was fly half Lawrence Evans who touched down; his effort was converted by Josh Sutton. As the game neared its end Doug Lloyd secured his hat trick after a strong run along the left touchline saw him squeeze in at the corner. l This weekend Tavistock play Wessex in a rearranged league fixture at Sandy Park. Kick-off 2.30pm.
