Western Counties West
Tavistock 8
Okehampton 47
THE extended break from rugby due to the weather did little to disrupt an Okehampton side that are in fine form with another five-pointer on the road, this time at bitter moorland rivals, Tavistock.
Okehampton started the brighter and were on the score sheet as early as the third minute following a scrum on the home 22. Number eight Steve Alford, picked up from the base and fed blindside flanker McGrattan whose attempt at a miss-pass was superbly picked up on the bounce by Matty Dennis who burst through before he released Luke Honeychurch to score just to the left of the posts. Fly-half Poynton converted to make the score 0-7.
Twelve minutes later and the visitors doubled their lead after a period of sustained pressure, starting with pushing Tavistock off their own scrum. A series of scrums deep in Tavistock territory then ensued and the home side were twice penalised for offences at scrum time. The Okes opted for a scrum on the award of the second penalty and they pushed the home side over the line for Alford to score. Poynton again converted to make it 0-14.
Midway through the half Tavistock's indiscipline meant they would play out the rest of the game with fourteen and within five minutes Okehampton had increased their lead further.
Tavistock made a mess of a 22 drop-out and the rampant Okes were awarded a scrum midfield. Scrum-half Richard Friend threw a neat dummy and cut a swathe through a threadbare defence to score next to the posts, leaving Poynton with a simple kick.
Okehampton were dominant but in the final 15 minutes of the half they conceded five penalties and thus possession and territory as the 14 men looked to muscle their way back in to the game. Tavistock's persistence paid off when in the 38th minute when number eight Ed Maslaveckas touched down and so at half-time it was 5-21.
However, in the second half the Okes soon increased their lead when in the 48th minute an infringement in the scrum by Tavistock in the home 22 led to penalty try being awarded; the resulting conversion was duly dispatched. Tavistock came back briefly and slotted a penalty through Richard Goldsby-West when Okehampton were pinged initially for offside and then for not retreating 10 yards. That was to be the end of the home side's resistance though as the resurgent Okes turned the remaining 25 minutes into somewhat of a procession.
Luke Honeychurch completed his brace in the 58 minute, when a loose kick from the home fly-half was fielded by Friend who launched a counter-attack; with Matty Dennis supporting well Honeychurch went down the wing to score in the corner.
On the hour the game was reduced to 14 a side when Callum Ausden was binned for what was an accumulative team penalty for persistent offside. Following his release from the bin Ausden showed a clean pair of heels to outstrip the home defence and skip round in under the posts to leave a simple conversion.
The Okes completed the scoring with the final play when Rory Honeychurch pounced on a loose Tavy pass in their own 22 to dart over near the posts to leave another simple kick for Poynton.