Devon one

North TAWTON 21

TORRINGTON 6

IT might have been a bit colder weather-wise off the pitch but it was a hotly contested contest on the pitch in this local derby.

Torrington arrived full of confidence after a big win last week, looking to be the first team to beat North Tawton this season; for their part with a strong-looking team out the home side had no reason to be overhauled by the visitors.

In the first 15 minutes North Tawton spent more time in their own half than they would have liked but without conceding any points the North Tawton defence proved its quality, especially against a Torrington team with quick backs.

A big blow to North Tawton after 20 minutes was the loss of Ben Sharpe with another shoulder injury having just playing his way back from a similar type of injury.

With the score locked at 0-0 it was going to take something special to break the deadlock; up stepped Si Quick for North Tawton who gathered the ball well in his own half and his good run followed by a kick/offload led to Luke Dennis going over for the first points; the conversion was added by Gary Sizmur for 7-0.

This frustrated the visitors who up to then had more territory and possession but their mood was not improved when shortly afterwards the home side scored a second try by man of the match Dan Dennis; the kick by Sizmur made it 14-0 to North Tawton at half time.

The second half started with North Tawton conceding a brace of penalties for high tackles as the visitors came back to 14-6  with an hour gone.

With plenty of vocal support from the good numbers that have come up the road from Torrington, the away side set about trying to reduce the points margin further, but this North Tawton side do not give points up easy.

After four changes from the bench North Tawton dug in for a superb final 15 minutes but a yellow card for the home side was not helping the cause.

However, a try from Matt Baker with kick from Gary Sizmur took the score to 21-6. As hard as Torrington tried they could not add to their six points and it ended with a great win for North Tawton.

It was a well-deserved victory for the home side with Torrington proving to be a good side and as always hard to beat.