TAVISTOCK hopes of a first away win of the season were dashed by a 21-12 defeat away to Ivybridge Vandals.

As the Vandals were sitting on the bottom of the table, with just one win to their name, it seemed like a great opportunity for the Moorlanders to end their away-day blues.

Tavistock had it all to do after Ivybridge hit them with three tries in quick succession to go 21-0 up.

And although Tavistock tightened up for the remainder of the match, there was just too much catching up to do.

“It was a disappointing day,” said Leigh Puttock, the Tavistock coach. “We controlled large parts of the game, but going 21–0 down in the first 20 minutes leaves you with a mountain to climb.

“We will own the loss, but there are positives to take. We had long periods of strong, organised play and absolutely took them to the cleaners in the scrum.

“Ultimately, we just weren’t clinical enough — and they were.”

Matt Grieveson, Josh Hughes and Matt Gilbury were the Ivybridge try scorers. Grieveson converted all three tries.

Ollie Plummer and Vaughan Glover were the Tavistock try scorers. Freddie Fuller kicked the conversion.

Tavistock are on the road again this Saturday when they pay a visit to second-placed Topsham II.