North Tawton..........................................17 South Molton 2nds...................................3 IN the first phase Tawton were back to their bad habit of giving away too many easy penalties which allowed South Molton to settle their game more quickly and penetrate the Tawton half. As the game developed Tawton were able to take advantage of some inaccurate South Molton throw-ins and win good possession through Neil Peters and Adam Hooper, who on several occasions stole opposition ball. This brought Tawton back into the game and they were pressing on the Molton 10 metre line on 2 occasions during the first 10 minutes. There was some good three quarter play from Tawton?s backs following another take ?against the head? at a lineout; a high up and under from Paul Fewings gave Phil Wale the chance to use his pace and he recovered the loose ball as South Molton hesitated on the catch. The ball was fed quickly to Tom Davis on the wing who showed good skill to keep the ball in play. The set scrums were being evenly contested up to this point but Tawton were beginning to put on the pressure after about 20 minutes. After a short lecture from the referee to both front rows about the niceties of correct binding the subsequent scrum saw Tawton?s Martin Friggins round so fast to disrupt the Molton feed that the referee decided he must have been offside. A little unwisely Molton decided on a planned penalty move from only about 10 metres out when a kick might have been more appropriate. The pass to a charging prop must have looked a good option from that distance but it was met with equal and opposite force by Tawton?s Richard Gould. South Molton maintained the pressure but the play was becoming scrappy with both sides starting to knock on. The resulting set scrums were now starting to go North Tawton?s way, and they were able to take advantage of the better ball and put together some encouraging attacking plays. Approaching half time Tawton were again guilty of a number of infringements, including talking back to the ref. One of these penalty opportunities gave South Molton their chance to slot a kick to goal and their fly half Ayre was successful, putting them 3-nil ahead. Tawton began to put together a series of good flowing moves with forwards Gary Dennis and Richard Lethbridge to the fore. Molton were able to hold out with good cover tackling and relieving kicks to touch as Tawton maintained the pressure. From one of their long kicks downfield a knock-on gave Molton the chance to return to Tawton?s half, but this was short-lived as the ascendancy of the Tawton pack started to take its toll and they regained lost territory as the half ended. The second half started well for South Molton and they were unlucky early on to miss a try down the left flank when a knock-on was adjudged to have preceded the grounding of the ball. North Tawton responded to this wake-up call and their defence was rock solid. No quarter was being given by either side, and tempers flared on the right wing following a tackle. North Tawton gained a penalty kick within range for Paul Fewings, who duly obliged with Tawton?s first three points. With this first score the whole outlook of the North Tawton team seemed to change and it was very much the home team in charge for the final stages. A neat chip through by Phil Wale and quick follow-up allowed him to re-gather the bouncing ball and bundle over for the first try. The conversion by Fewings squeezed in past the left hand post. An excellent, long penalty by Fewings took Tawton close to the opposition try line and from a pile up a few metres out a perfectly timed short feed from scrum half Martin Friggins found prop Richard Gould at full speed and he powered over for another try in an almost identical position to the first. This time Fewings had adjusted his swing to allow for the following wind and bisected the uprights with precision to put Tawton into a 17-3 lead. In the final stages North Tawton were unlucky not to consolidate their lead following a pile up close to South Molton?s line as hooker Adrian Peirce cut a perfectly angled line through the crowded defence but lost the ball in contact as he was grounding it. South Molton rallied well for the last few minutes and regained some territory, and their line out was starting to be more effective. North Tawton had the final say however with a neat ?inside to outside? move between Adam Hooper and Phil Wale nearly putting Darren Phare away for a run up the line. As it was, soon after that Phare put in an excellent 30 metre clearance up the field to close out the match. This week there is a return to the league fixtures with an away match against Prince Rock/Woodland Fort.
