Tavistock U18s 45

Newquay Hornets 35

AFTER several weeks of rugby inactivity due to waterlogged pitches, the Tavistock team initially looked fresh, Newquay jaded.

Tavistock rapidly built up 26 points in the first 10 minutes with tries by Lucy Jones, Annabel Longdon, Shannon Hocking and Emily Kneale. Annabel Longdon missed only one conversion.

It looked too easy for Tavistock who had plenty of good possession.

With intelligent off-loading and rapid ball recycling, a big score looked on the cards against a talented Newquay side with several county players.

Newquay then took the initiative as Tavistock relaxed and bounced back with three tries before half time.

After the restart, it looked like order was restored when Kim Upcott came through from the loose, was stopped in her tracks, but managed to pop the ball to Avril Trehane who broke through one tackle and sprinted to the posts allowing Annabel Longdon to add the extras.

Back came Newquay with determination and scored two more tries, leaving the points difference only due to the excellent kicking of Annabel Longdon.

A stiff word in the ear by captain Alice Upcott put more fire into the Tavistock side. The ever-present sniping of scrum half Flo Rodgers twice grabbed possession and ran in individual tries, again converted, to seal the win, but not before Newquay again replied with a breakout try.

When the Tavistock team 'clicks' into action, it is a pleasure to watch them. Consistently good tackling and free-flowing rugby characterise their game. However, today they so nearly missed a successful result by lack-lustre marking and the stamina to close down the match by good possession management.

The final whistle came as a relief for the home side.