Cornwall and Devon

Tavistock first XV 25

Saltash first XV 43

ON a glorious day, Tavistock welcomed high-flying Saltash to Sandy Park and gave the large crowd an excellent spectacle with their nothing to lose attitude to the fixture.

Having lost previously in the season to the Ashes, Tavistock knew they must keep their high flying backs under control if they are to avoid a repeat performance. Despite a couple of early infringements at the breakdown, Tavistock were first on the score sheet as their man of the match Chris Stables slotted an early penalty in front of the sticks. Saltash responded with a couple of quick fire tries when Tavistock were caught napping but a further penalty kept the hosts within striking range.

Tavistock threw the ball around with relative ease in the first half and enjoyed large passages of play throughout. Saltash’s defence held well until late in the half when captain Schuttkacker bundled over after a lengthy patch of possession.

Ashes did add a further three tries of their own before the break; a couple of which were conceded fairly softly from kick-offs, due to a lapse in concentration on the kick chase.

With the half time score at 31-13, Tavistock had the game still much in their reach as they continued to keep the ball alive. This was rewarded with fine try from number eight turned fly half Friend, who had a great game with ball in hand.

As the clock ticked down the game only got better as both sides kept ball in hand and played exciting rugby. A late yellow card to Saltash’s busy number six for a stamp saw the Moorlanders score perhaps the try of the game when a number of strong forward carries from the impressive Martin Budden and Joe Hair led to a superb offload from James Bruna, who put utility player Maslen in for his first XV try.