South West

one West

Okehampton 36

Matson 6

THE Okes finally set foot back on home turf and made the most of their return with this comfortable bonus point victory.

Desperate to put last week’s derby defeat behind them, the hosts kicked off down the slope on a wet but playable surface and started with pace and purpose. Matson are mixed up in the relegation dog fight this term and their problems soon worsened as the Okes struck early.

Only two minutes had elapsed when a recycled ball was moved left where second rower Sam Turner was lurking in midfield. The lock straightened the line nicely and found Gareth Espin on his inside shoulder.

A simple inside pass and the home full back was clear to race in by the uprights for a dream home start. Richie Friend popped over the simple conversion to make it 7-0 to the Okes.

Returning play to the visitors half of the field, the Okes began to find their rhythm and smart play saw them threatening in the red zone once more.

The Matson defence became stretched after several phases and when the ball found Dan Foggarty in space, the young fly half unselfishly put player coach Martin Harrison-Browne over in the bottom right corner.

There were no extras this time, but the visitors already looked in for a tough afternoon. Harrison-Browne was soon in the vanguard once more, a powerful foray from the number eight initially took play into the Matson half.

A minute later he was the beneficiary of a clinical home scrummage that created a pushover try on 14 minutes. The conversion was landed by Richie Friend and the Okes were 19-0 ahead and with a growing dominance up front.

Both sides endeavoured to throw the ball about, despite the tricky underfoot conditions. Matson were not disheartened, having plenty of possession and territory during the second quarter, yet they couldn’t find a way through the Okes’ staunch defensive line.

They also continued to suffer at the hands of the Oke scrum as it regularly pushed the visitors off their own ball. Play became a little bogged down as the half time whistle arrived with no further score. However the visitor’s centre decided to have a difference of opinion with the referee as the interval arrived and saw yellow for his backchat.

The second half commenced and the home crowd were warmed by the welcome reappearance off the bench, after long absences, of back rower Dean Abrams and prop Nicky Martin respectively.

Both soon showed their worth with influential second half performances as the Okes continued to dominate.

An early attacking Matson lineout was merely a brief hiatus and it wasn’t long before the Okes were pushing for the bonus point score. It arrived in the 48th minute and it was fitting that it came courtesy of a powerful charge in the wide channels from impressive lock Karl Pearce.

The second rower was growing into his position, putting in a man of the match performance capped by his solo score. The conversion was wide but the full five point haul now looked nailed on.

The rain that had mercifully held off until this point finally arrived, as conditions temporarily worsened. Okes’ replacement fly half Luke Simmons was now on the field and he soon came close to a fifth try, but was hauled down just short as the final quarter arrived.

It was just a brief stay of execution though as from the resultant scrum the Okes once more drove the hosts off their own ball, causing havoc for the visiting number eight at the base. Richie Friend was on hand to force a turnover, and after a couple of pick and go phases the Okes got their fifth try when Neil Perrott, playing at six this week, powered his way over from close range.

The conversion from in front was landed by Friend and the score was now 31-0 as the last 15 minutes lay ahead.

With the match now sewn up, play became a little fractured and disjointed for a spell, as the Okes were content to stand off and defend what the visitors had left to offer attack-wise. There was still time for one more home try though and it arrived with two minutes remaining.

Home skipper Tom McGrattan found himself in midfield, and via an outside arc and a hand off, dived over to put the seal on a fine all round team performance. No conversion, but the final whistle soon blew and the Okes had returned to winning ways after a run of three defeats.

This was a much improved 18 man effort from the Okes; boosted by returning players and winning comfortably despite the fact that they would much prefer drier, firmer conditions.

A welcome run of home matches continues next week with the visit of Keynsham in a rearranged fixture with a 2.30pm kick off.

The Okes will be looking to avenge the reverse away defeat and with the England/Wales match on in the clubhouse afterwards, this would be the perfect time to bring along your much appreciated support.