TAVISTOCK completed their first season in the Western West league with a dominant 57-5 win over Falmouth, and the result saw them finish a healthy seventh in the league table.

Winning results have been harder to come by for the Moorlanders in the second half of the season with injuries taking their toll but this has given valuable game time to some of the club’s younger players. Moving up from last year’s colts side, forwards Calum Baker, Tylo Coupland and Vaughan Glover have got better and better every week and they were prominent throughout Saturday’s game.

Tavistock were on the scoresheet in the first five minutes when fly half Al Spicer showed great footwork to go over. George Hillson converted.

Playing into a swirling wind Tavi looked to keep the ball in hand and move it to the wider channels. A dropped ball was expertly grubber kicked by Baker back towards his backline where the ball was fed to winger Liam Watts. He looked to have broken free on the left flank but drew the full-back and selflessly passed to number eight, Jack Osborne, on the inside who went over for Tavi’s second.

The Moorlanders were soon attacking down the left again, but Falmouth’s defence held out and Watts was tackled just short of the line. An attack down the right side saw a loose pass fielded by winger Ed Tait who had the strength and composure to dart over from 15 metres out. With the line-out functioning well and front rowers Charlie Charlton, Hammy Kerswill and Toby Teague having the upper hand in the scrums, Tavi had control and closed the half with two further tries from the fleet-footed Hillson and he duly converted both. 

Falmouth started the second half strongly but Tavi full-back Jack Easton dealt with their kicking game effectively, running back everything from deep. Easton captained a man-of-the-match performance by rounding off a flowing backs move to add Tavi’s sixth try. Hillson converted. Centres Chris Watts and Ethan Lamerton then combined to put Hillson clear for his hat-trick, which he also converted.

Forward-driving play was putting Tavistock on the front foot with Charlton, Jack Giddy, Coupland and Kerswill all carrying strongly. This made space in the wider channels where Liam Watts was on hand to get a much-deserved score.

The biggest cheer of the afternoon, however, was for prop Richard Cann, who came off the bench and, when Falmouth looked to have broken clear, he claimed a vital interception and charged over from the edge of the 22. Hillson converted.

A combative and brave Falmouth side kept going to the final whistle and after a series of drives from close range picked up the game’s final score.