Cornwall and Devon Tavistock first XV 5

Penryn first XV 27

TAVISTOCK’S first team’s momentum in the league was halted when they went down by 22 points in a rare loss to the now fourth placed Penryn.

After a superb, yet unlucky, performance against front runners Paignton, Tavistock felt they had enough in the tank to turn around the away defeat they suffered back in October. It was not be as the visitors outscored the Moorlanders by four tries to one.

Penryn started on the front foot as they made many an inroad into Tavistock’s 22. The defence held strong and the Cornish outfit only had an early penalty to their name.

A series of infringements were exchanged between sides, particularly at set pieces, where Tavistock have been strong all year. Some may have felt the turning point came early in the game as a Tavistock driving maul was halted just short of the line, only to be turned over by Penryn. A score here may have seen an improved confidence in the West Devon outfit.

Instead, a number of handling errors saw Penryn extend their league to 15-0, despite having a man in the bin for a high tackle.

Tavistock had the conditions on their side in the second half but struggled to utilise them as it was Penryn’s turn to play with the man advantage; Charlie Charlton being binned for a late tackle.

A further two tries by Penryn were scored during this period, both of which could have been prevented by the home team with a bit more enthusiasm in place.

It took 70 minutes of game play for Tavistock to wake up, a fine break by the influential Doug Lloyd saw Sam Smerdon released to score a trademark finish out wide. However, it was too little, too late for the hosts.