Cornwall and Devon

Tavistock 15

Teignmouth 22

TAVISTOCK started with the bright sunshine on their backs, Duncan Law claimed the kick off well and supported by Robin Jones set a good platform for Tavistock to build a few phases of play. The visitors were forced to kill the ball and Richard West drove the resulting penalty deep into their territory.

Tavistock's lineout has been functioning well recently and this continued as Lloyd James and James Bruna almost seemed telepathic in their timing while Doug Lloyd was an ever willing runner. Tavistock through Rob Monk and Matt Martin generated quick ball at the breakdown; Teignmouth were unable to cope with the pressure as Ewan Smith and Richard West started pulling the strings, giving away a stack of penalties. Tavistock were unable to take advantage of their openings, giving the visitors confidence.

Teignmouth began to dominate the scrum and a good break from their outside backs opened up the Tavistock defence. A penalty given away by Monk enabled Teignmouth to take a 0-3 lead. This set-back spurred Tavistock into life with Andrew Kaka and Andrew Griffiths running hard into the contact. This gifted space for outside centre George Rodgers, whose run was cut short by a cynical tackle by the left wing who was duly sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes. Tavistock went for the jugular and kicked to the corner, from this they were able to set up a driving maul and push Teignmouth over their own line. Law was last up from the pile of bodies and the try was awarded, 5-3.

Tavistock were enjoying a purple patch, with the extra man they were able to find holes across the Teignmouth back line and get the ball to both of their flying wingers, Ben Neal and Simon Braithwaiite. The next score came thanks to great vision from West. Smith moved the ball down the left flank, from the resulting ruck West kicked to the opposite corner allowing Neal to touch down to make it 10-3. Tavistock lacked the killer instinct and Teignmouth made them pay for their inefficiency as mistakes started creeping into Tavistock's game. A quick tap from a free kick allowed the prop to ghost untouched under the posts to make it 10-10 at half time.

In the second half Tavistock tried playing an expansive game but not holding on to the ball. These errors unsettled Tavistock and their nerves began to show and two quick tries gave the visitors a 10-22 lead.

Tavistock were left to chase the game in the final 20 minutes; however they showed character and started to get themselves back into contention.

The introduction of Tom Friend added a raw aggression to the breakdown. Will Glover tried to force the issue with his running lines but lost his bearings and placed the ball over his own line instead of the oppositions.

Tavistock having set up camp in the 22 were knocking on the door for another score. As they switched play from right to left, Smith spotted a gap and showed a good turn of pace to touch down in the corner, 15-22.

Tavistock had further chances to score an unlikely equaliser but Teignmouth's defence held firm, their last attack being cut short as the referee penalised Law for overenthusiastic use of the boot. Tavistock's Doug Lloyd was at the heart of all the good things Tavistock did and didn't deserve to finish on the losing side.