Western Counties West

Tavistock 13

Bude 39

TAVISTOCK went into this match looking to put daylight between themselves and Bude who were in the bottom two in the league.

However, in atrocious conditions, they were outplayed by a team who used their win against the league leaders last week to push themselves up the table.

An early penalty gave the visitors the lead and a yellow card for Dougie Lloyd did not help the Tavistock cause.

A tap penalty in front of the posts saw the ball worked back to Richard Goldsby-West who dropped the goal to level the scores.

Both teams were putting boot to ball to gain ground but not making much headway. A tap penalty five metres out enabled Bude to drive over for their first try which was converted. Tavistock hit back and a steal at a lineout 15 metres out enabled front row Lloyd James to burst through a couple of tackles to touch down in the corner.

Good runs by Ben Hadfield, Mark Friend and Danny Luffman saw the home side put pressure on the visitors but their final ball and some good defending kept them out.

The second Tavistock try came from Luffman as he burst through on a short pass from Lloyd to go over. The half ended with both sides trading possession but not threatening the line.

An early penalty in the second half enabled the visitors to level the scores and following a lineout 10 metres from the Tavistock line, the visitors drove over for a try.

The visitors' pack were now dominating and following another scrum they were over in the corner for a try. This was quickly followed by another as the pack drove over.

With the conditions worsening the visitors slid in for their final try under the posts. Tavistock tried to salvage some pride with some good possession and handling as they attempted to register a second half score but the visitors defended well to run out deserved winners.