Devon and Cornwall League Okehampton first 45 Wessex first 6 THIS was another comprehensive victory for the Okes in a match that didn't quite reach the heights of the two previous home wins, but it was an efficient performance nonetheless. Oke played up the hill into a strong breeze in the first period, and began brightly which has been the pattern in recent weeks. They pressurised the visitors in the opening exchanges and took an early lead with a regulation penalty from the metronomic boot of winger Lee Carey. The visitors were not offering much of a threat, and with the home pack dominating the forward battle, the backs had plenty of ball to spread wide. This they did with relish and with good handling they were able to release the powerful Carey on several attacking raids. From one of these runs the winger found centre Luke Honeychurch in support; he crossed for the game's first try and the signs were already ominous for the relegation threatened visitors. Carey converted and was soon in action again. An almost identical piece of play found the left winger offloading to support again, and this time it was the other youthful centre Alex Dennis who demonstrated the benefit of running good support lines as he crossed near the posts for another fine converted try. Oke then took their foot off the gas and allowed the visitors' full back to score with two penalties which reduced the home side's lead at the interval to 17- 6. The second period had not long begun when the game was halted for an extended period when the air ambulance was called and landed on the pitch to remove an injured Wessex player. This obviously hindered the flow of the game and the second half became a little stop-start. Oke carried on their forward control though and with the line out a big improvement over the Cullompton game, along with the scrum marching forward impressively, the strain took its toll on the away pack. The referee had little choice but to award Oke two penalty tries as five yard scrums were illegally halted by the visitors who had no real answer to the home pack's power. Carey converted them both and Oke were well clear at 31-6 ahead. Returning number eight Steve Alford also got his name on the score sheet from another set scrum and Carey again converted to increase the lead further as the game entered the last quarter. The home side's sixth and final try went to Gareth Espin who had moved to full back in the second half. He popped up at pace on the end of a blind side move to score to the right of the posts and with yet another conversion added by Carey the game was all but finished. The protracted second half finally came to an end and another solid home performance had ensured a good margin of victory. l Okehampton move onto Truro next — hoping to continue their recent good form and push for a top four finish in the league.
