Tavistock 1st XV 25

St Austell 1st XV 21

TAVISTOCK continued their good start to the season with a win over St Austell in the Daily Mail Cup.

The match began with what turned out to be Tavistock?s best period of the game. Against a much larger team they began to show that size was by no means everything as they immediately put pressure on the visitors.

From a five-metre scrum No 8 Chris Morton picked and popped to scrum half Richard Freedman. He set off an impressive passing move through the backs which led to debutant Ryan Johns going over in the corner.

Tavistock continued the pressure, and good link work between backs and forwards found second row Robbie Barwick showing great vision to get the ball in the corner and finish the move with a sidestep of which any winger would have been proud.

Tavistock then began to relax and it was only due to good tackling, mainly from Sam Smerdon and Alex Brown, that St Austell did not go over for a try.

The home team then began to gain territory from good work in the forwards, Jake Hurle was able to roll off a maul and score on his return to rugby after a lengthy absence due to injury.

At the beginning of the second half complacency by Tavistock meant they were soon under pressure and defending deep inside their own half. The defence held strong for a time but the visitors scored.

Spurred on, Tavistock again found themselves in a good territorial position and Sam Lawson used this to advantage as he crossed the line to restore the lead to 15 points.

Tavistock continued to pressure the visitors but one monstrous kick with an unlucky bounce led to St Austell scoring to reduce the deficit to eight points.

Tavistock?s game then fell to pieces and silly errors gave St Austell the chance to again cross the line under the posts.

Throughout the second half Tavistock?s saviour was Smerdon?s right boot as he continually kicked well to relieve pressure and slotted over a penalty to ensure the opposition needed to score a final try to win.

This still looked possible until an inspirational tackle from Kyle Langdon ended any hopes of a St Austell victory.

Devon 1

Topsham 17

Tavistock 37

TAVISTOCK continued their league success with this important away victory. Topsham. returned to Devon 1 this season having been promoted from Devon 2, fielded several new players, strengthening the side.

Tavistock were slow to master their game and Topsham were equally quick to take advantage. They put pressure on the defence, turned over Tavistock possession and released the backs to score with the overlap.

This was enough to motivate ?the Moorlanders? to action and it was not long before they began to pressurise the Topsham line.

Second row Andy Hunt along with back row?s Simon Boreham, and Matt Cole battered their way through Topsham?s players, creating good attacking opportunities for the backs.

Tavistock were awarded a penalty and fly half Chris Woods kicked the ball between the posts. It was the nimble hooker Rob Sleep who was, for the third week running, the first to cross the line, powering over with the help of the Tavistock back row. Woods converted.

Topsham proved they were still in the game, when they took advantage of sloppy handling and tackling by Tavistock to break down the wing and score.

Andy Hunt replied soon after, aided by the pack who drove over from a scrum. Captain Matt Cole was next to score, when he broke through Topsham tacklers from a maul.

Tavistock led 29-12 at half time, playing against a strong breeze in the second half. With the recent lack of rain and the grass being cut, the pitch was baked hard and the conditions took their toll on the Topsham players. Two had to go off with lower limb injuries and play was constantly disrupted to attend to players? injuries.

Topsham applied more pressure and claimed another try, having again turned over Tavistock possession in a ruck. Tavistock were undoubtedly in control though, and centre Mark Baker was rewarded for his committed performance when he burst through the defence, changing the running angle to deceive the opposition. Woods converted again.

The final score followed almost immediately when Tavistock broke from the kick-off. Boreham showed great pace as he raced down the wing to score. Unfortunately he pulled up sharply as he crossed the line, having pulled his hamstring.

This match revealed areas Tavistock will have to polish to continue their winning run, but they should feel confident in their game after some exciting running rugby.