Cornwall and Devon

TAVISTOCK RFC 28

EXETER ATHLETIC 5

IN what can only be described as a slow start for Tavistock they finally got their first win of the season with a win against Exeter due to their forward dominance.

Tavistock played with the slope in the first half and were soon on top in the scrums. After the third go they shunted the opposition backwards they were awarded a penalty try after Exeter infringed. Front rowers Richard Cann, Hammy Kerswill and Joe Hair had a field day pushing their opponents scrum all over the place, securing their own ball and stealing much of Exeter’s.

The Tavistock lineout also worked well and following a powerful drive back rower Jamie Legg capped a man of the match performance by bursting through the middle of the maul to run clear and score. Rob Pratt added the conversion.

Looking to secure the try bonus point before half time Tavistock continued to press. Leion Cole and Martin Budden both made line breaks and with Exeter stuck on their own try line, number eight Sam Northmore was sharpest to react to score a cheeky try by getting his hand to touch it down before the Exeter scrum half had time to react. Pratt kicked the tricky conversion to give the Moorlanders a 21-0 lead.

As they looked to keep applying the pressure Tavistock perhaps started to rush things and full back Jack Glover was pulled back by the referee for a forward pass after it looked like he had a clear run in to the line.

With the first half coming to a close Exeter started to try and move the ball wider and scored in the right hand corner just on the stroke of half time. This gave the Sandy Park faithful some nerves, as Tavistock have let some leads slip this season; however, this was not to be the case as the Moorlanders continued to stay on top in the second half.

Pratt, Aiden Mason and Ethan Lamerton all made big tackles in the midfield to put Exeter on the back foot and Pratt’s kicking from hand help kept the visitors in their own half. Connor Packwood and Glover fielded some difficult kicks and ran them back with interest, the former showing great footwork to break clear on at least two occasions only being stopped by some last ditch defence.

New Zealander George Faaumu came on and kept the pressure on in the front row and with 20 minutes left to play home captain Andrew Schuttkacker crashed through several tacklers in the midfield to break clear and make the bonus point score.

Pratt kicked his third conversion, which helped to keep the score out of Exeter’s reach. A bonus point win for Tavistock was just rewards for a workmanlike 80 minute performance.