OKEHAMPTON RFC 1st XV gave Tiverton RFC a scare before going down 26-24 in a ding-dong Devon derby on the Bolham Road ground.

Tiverton went nine points up twice – 19-10 in the first half, 26-17 in the second – and both times Okey got right back in the game.

And had a speculative penalty gone over in the last minute of the match, Okehampton would have snatched victory. It didn’t quite have the legs to get there.

That was second-placed Tiverton’s seventh win on the trot on the way to a guaranteed place in the South West Two promotion play-offs next month.

Fourth-in the table Okehampton remain in the play-off frame, although whether they are as keen on going up as Tiverton is a moot point.

After a couple of seasons losing more games than they won, Okehampton were relegated from South West One two years ago. Rebuilding is still going on and may need to continue a little longer before promotion is a realistic prospect.

Hooker Reece Lyons scored Tiverton’s first try, which Callum Stone converted. Tries by Leon Horn and Brad Curtis briefly gave Okey a 10-7 lead.

By half time Tiverton had gone 19-10 ahead with tries from Lyons and Jonny Fairclough. Stone converted the former.

Okehampton narrowed the gap to 19-17 with another Curtis try. Luke Simmons converted it.

Callum Findlay’s try through the centre, converted by Stone, shunted Tiverton 26-17 up.

Back came Okehampton through replacement Will Holland with a try that Simmons converted to set-up a nail-biting finish.

When Tiverton coughed-up a last-play penalty near halfway, Simmons went for goal without success.

Brett Luxton, the Okehampton coach, said with better discipline the game would not have hinged on Simmons’ boot.

“It was on the halfway line and the conditions for kicking were not great,” said Luxton. “I’m proud that Luke backed himself.

“We gave away too many penalties in the first half, which allowed Tiverton to either clear their line, or kick to the corner, where they used their well-drilled driving line out to score a couple of tries.”

Okehampton will make the trip to champions-elect Weston-super-Mare this Saturday. Weston had no game this weekend, their last outing being a 71-17 demolition of Ivybridge on March 7.

Having won all 19 of their league games to date, they are nearing the 100-point mark and, despite Tiverton’s strong season, remain way out front.

There were two other games played in Okehampton’s division on Saturday, March 14. Winscombe prevailed by 28 points to 10 at home against North Petherton and mid-table Ivybridge put Wellington to the sword, winning 54-20. Whilst Weston are 19-0, Welly are 0-19 in an extremely difficult year for them.

All 12 teams are scheduled to be playing this coming weekend. Cullompton (11th) host Tiverton (2nd), Crediton (5th) visit Penzance & Newlyn (8th), Wadebridge Camels (3rd) and Ivybridge (6th) will cross paths, North Petherton (10th) will look to further compound the Wellington (12th) misery, Winscombe (7th) take on Teignmouth (9th) and of course, Okehampton travel to Weston-super-Mare.

Meanwhile, there were no games for Okehampton men’s IIs or the women’s 1st XV. Coming up, they play Exeter Athletic (Saturday 21) and Winscombe (Sunday 22) at home respectively.