Cornwall and Devon League Tavistock 13 Bideford 12 IN dull damp conditions that were not conducive to Tavistock?s brand of dry weather rugby they struggled to overcome a resilient but limited Bideford side at Sandy Park on Saturday. Tavistock had most of the game and most of the field position but some bad ball retention and mistakes around the breakdown meant that they were again unable to convert their superiority into points. Tavistock opened the scoring during the first quarter when fly half Josh Sutton?s pass put centre Doug Lloyd into space, which he exploited to the full to score wide out on the left. Tavistock continued to dominate in all aspects of the game and put pressure on Bideford via the forwards. This pressure was initially repelled with number eight Jake Phillips coming close to scoring on three occasions. However from a lineout catch and drive Tavistock eventually increased their lead when flanker Will Brown claimed the touch down. Bideford then started eating into the Tavistock lead and a penalty goal either side of half-time from Ben Bradshaw saw them back to within four points. Tavistock then struck back with a penalty goal from Josh Sutton to ease the home supporters? concerns and they continued to try and play rugby but were unable to pierce a dogged defence. As the game drew to a close Bideford narrowed the gap to just one point with two further penalty goals. Tavistock however held on for a deserved victory. l This weekend Tavistock entertain Truro in a Cornwall and Devon League fixture, kick off 2.30pm.
