REGIONAL 2 TRIBUTE ALE SOUTH WEST

Okehampton RFC 43 Wellington 14

ON A dry but very breezy afternoon, Okehampton RFC began their latest campaign with an emphatic victory against visitors Wellington, another side who are under a new coaching regime.

After an initial period of Wellington possession, the hosts dominated for long periods. In fact, it only took three minutes for the home side to open the scoring.

Evergreen talisman Tom McGrattan cut a nice line to cross beside the posts for a score converted by new skipper Luke Simmons.

Okehampton were stretching the visitor’s defence out wide throughout the opening quarter, and after 14 minutes Leon Horn, moved to the centre this week, crossed for his mandatory score courtesy of a well-timed short pop pass. Simmons added the extras to make it a 14-point lead.

The gusty wind was proving tricky for both sides, but the Okes kept pressing and found their way through the opposing defence for their third try of the half. A quick tap, after excellent phase play, saw centre Josh Burgoyne benefit from another nice short pass to cross under the bar for a score that surprisingly went unconverted. Unfortunately, he was then forced to leave the field through injury.

There was still enough time in the half though for the Okes to cross for their fourth, a bonus point try. Saul Holliday, having an impactful afternoon, picked up from a ruck to have a clear run in under the posts. Simmons converted and at 26-nil, it was already looking like a long afternoon for the men from Somerset.

The interval came and went and Okehampton began the second period sluggishly. An unnecessary chip ahead in their own 22 invited pressure and Welly maintained possession before creating space out wide for their first try of the afternoon. The score was now 26-7 and with several changes of personnel, Oke needed to re-gather their composure.

They slowly found more rhythm and camped in the Welly 22. The visitors held out for a short while before lock Brad Curtis, who carried well all afternoon, bulldozed his way over for the host’s fifth score.

On 65 minutes, the sixth try followed with Saul Holliday bagging his brace. He picked up at the base of the scrum and powered over before Simmons converted to make it 38-7.

The home side’s seventh and final try of the afternoon came in clubhouse corner when scrum-half Ollie Wonnacott took a quick penalty and fed replacement Ollie Jordan, who crossed with time running out.

To Wellington‘s credit, they never gave up and were rewarded with their second try of the afternoon to make it 43-14 as time ran out.

So, after a mixed pre-season, this was a morale-boosting victory for Brett Luxton and his squad. Next week’s trip to Winscombe will be another test- any and all support would be greatly appreciated.

This impressive win has Okehampton in second behind only Pirates Amateurs, who scored 53 unanswered points in an emphatic home victory over Cullompton. There were also wins in this division for Weston-super-Mare, Ivybridge by a single point, Teignmouth and Tiverton.

Photography courtesy of Shaun Fry at Mindful Moments.