Devon and Cornwall League Okehampton 1st XV 28 Wellington 1st XV 0 PERSISTENT rain and a boggy pitch did not prevent Okehampton from doing the league double over their visitors from Somerset. Given the playing conditions, it was never going to be a feast of running rugby, but the crowd enjoyed the contest nonetheless. Okehampton began down the slope and straight from the off their forwards took control. This forward dominance was to continue for the entire match as Okehampton dominated the scrum and also managed to secure consistent clean lineout ball which was an achievement in itself, given the sodden conditions. Wellington failed to escape from their own half for the majority of the first period, Okehampton pressed hard for a try, but due to the wet handling conditions and several passes that went to ground, all they could manage was three Lee Carey penalties. Wellington had tried to diffuse the strong forward driving game employed by Okehampton by illegally pulling down mauls and entering from the side. The referee failed to bin anyone for this in the first period, and despite their total domination Okehampton only had a 9-0 lead as the sides changed over at the interval. Any worries that the home side had that the lead was not enough were soon dispelled. The home forwards continued where they left off in the first half by driving their visitors back, almost at will. Their rolling maul was proving impossible to defend legally, and finally two of the visitors were sent to the sin bin for their continuous infringements. Okehampton seized on this advantage and a rolling maul ended with flanker Steve Alford using his experience to steer the drive across the line and he grounded the first try. Winger Carey converted and at 16-nil Okehampton had clear daylight and another victory was assured. The rest of the half followed a similar pattern, Okehampton dominated and pressed for more scores. Another infringement in the Wellington 22 resulted in a penalty. Quick thinking by young scrum half Joey Bruce saw him tap and go to cross for an opportunist score and stretch the home side's lead. It was now 23-0 as Carey added another successful conversion. The match entered the final period and another strong forward drive ended with hooker Bruce Griffiths scoring to the left of the posts to round off a good afternoon's work by the home side. The final whistle blew soon after, and a 28 points to nil victory, considering the conditions was very satisfactory. Okehampton know they will play much stronger sides as they continue to try to hang on the tails of the leading pack in the league. However, the fact that they nilled the opposition and currently have conceded the second lowest total of points of any side in the league show that defence is not a problem; creating openings and breaking down stronger defences will be the main challenge ahead. l The league fixtures resume in a fortnight with a trip to bottom side Teignmouth.
