Devon and Cornwall League

OPMs first XV 3

OKEHAMPTON travelled to Plymouth for this return fixture, only to find the venue switched at short notice to the slightly sloping surface at Central Park. With the hosts firmly fixed towards the bottom of the league table, an away win was a necessity.

The Plymouth side began down the slope and were lively in the early exchanges, pressing and harrying the Oke side into mistakes and wrong options.

The home side struck first as their full back put over a confidently struck penalty to reward their early pressure with a three point lead. This awoke the Okes from their slumbers and they spent the majority of the first half in their opponents' half of the pitch. It was clear that the Okes had the home side's defence in trouble whenever they moved the ball wide. Gaps were appearing in the outside channels and but for Okehampton's profligacy they could well have had the match wrapped up by half time.

Several passes were forced, knock-ons ensued and OPMs scrambled to keep their line intact.

The referee eventually awarded a penalty to Oke which centre Luke Honeychurch struck sweetly to bring the scores level.

The Okes continued to monopolise possession and territory and they breached the home side defence; again it was out wide as Honeychurch made a scything break and fed fellow centre Brimmacombe running a good support line to cross to the left of the uprights. Honeychurch converted to give a 10-3 lead and the pattern for the match was now set.

As the second half began the Okes made changes, a welcome sight was the return of influential back rower Ali Mason and it would not be long before he made his presence felt.

The Okes soon stretched their lead with another Honeychurch penalty, and then from a close range line out, the returning Mason picked up, saw a gap and crashed over for a try that looked as though it might open the floodgates.

The conversion was missed but with the home side tiring rapidly and picking up injuries, the opportunity was there for Okes to seriously improve their points difference tally.

However, the game became disjointed, Oke missed a few opportunities to move the ball and the home side battled gamely in attack and defence. It wasn't until the last quarter that Oke struck again, after a good handling move, instigated by the recurringly impressive Simon Cox, wing Alex Dennis crossed for an unconverted score. The lead was now 20 points but could've been much more.

The last try was a well worked effort, as good hands created space on the right flank for Luke Honeychurch who unselfishly fed an inside pass to the supporting Brimmacombe, who crossed for his second try to cap a useful personal contribution. Honeychurch converted and before long the match was brought to an end.

This was a satisfactory win and a margin of victory that the Okes would have surely taken before the kick off. The chance was there for more scores, but ultimately another useful two points as the five way battle at the top of the table rumbles on.