Devon and Cornwall League

Crediton 17

OKEHAMPTON came off second best to local rivals Crediton and were also knocked off top position in the updated league table.

In a match that much mirrored last season's corresponding fixture, the match was a fairly dour battle of attrition between the packs, with defences to the fore.

Okehampton produced two halves of very differing intensity, and playing up the slight slope in the first half it took them 35 minutes to get out of first gear.

The home side's bulky pack had the upper hand throughout the opening quarter as they stole lineout and moved the Oke scrummage uncharacteristically backwards.

The Wayne Reed influence was prevalent as the home side's driving maul kept the ball away from Oke's more dangerous backs. It was surprising that it took nearly 25 minutes for the home side to make their possession and territorial advantage tell.

After a period of pressure the Crediton scrum half sniped over off the side of a scrum to leave an easy conversion and give the home side a 7-0 lead. Much like the Penryn game, Oke were flat in the opening exchanges and although they defended well, Crediton's profligacy in attack kept them within a score approaching half time.

With the interval approaching Oke moved the ball blind from a set scrum. Winger Steve Richards made ground and showed good strength to feed openside Simon Cox and he crashed over in the corner.

Despite producing one of their poorest opening halves of the season the interval was imminent and Oke only trailed by two points with the slope advantage to come. Then almost symptomatic of their afternoon, Oke contrived to concede another score before the break.

From a scrum on half way a kick ahead was charged down and a kind bounce enabled the home winger to run in virtually unopposed to leave the half time score at 12-7 to the hosts.

Oke needed to score next and start the second half on the front foot. However it was Crediton that struck almost immediately from the restart.

Oke failed to stop the momentum of the home side's driving maul all game, and it was from another such series of drives that the Crediton hooker crossed to leave Oke trailing at 17-5 with over half an hour remaining.

To Oke's credit they did finally raise their game. The forwards started to gain set piece ball and they dominated the remainder of the match, particularly territorially. Unfortunately their attacks lacked a cutting edge and too often they tried to attack through Crediton's area of strength — their pack, when stretching them out wide could well have proved more fruitful. Crediton were content to soak up the pressure and grind out driving passages of play when they had possession.

Despite a few near misses, Oke could not cross the whitewash again and only the second league defeat of the season soon arrived. It's a mystery why Oke failed to produce anything like their usual form, but this league is still wide open.

The return fixture in December will be key and Oke will need to produce more if they are to gain suitable revenge.