Western Counties West

Tavistock 8

Devonport Services 12

IN atrocious conditions and on a barely playable pitch, both teams gave their all in a bruising encounter with the visitors running out the eventual winners.

The early encounters saw both teams trying to hold on to a ball that was like a bar of soap.

Services had an early chance of three points with a penalty but it went wide.

A well timed pass to Danny Luffman just saw him unable to hold on to the ball when a try beckoned. The pressure was coming from the home side but Services were defending well.

Tavistock were impeded when trying to take a tap penalty, which resulted in a yellow card for Services, and fly half Rich Goldsby-West stroked over the penalty for the first points of the match.

The Tavistock lineout was working well with Hallam Bourton and Mark Friend making several steals and this enabled to get the backs moving forward but the ball was being lost too often.

As half time approached, Tavistock increased their lead. A turnover enabled Mark Friend to barge through several tackles to set up a ruck where the ball was fed out quickly and Simon Braithwaite's offload enabled Danny Luffman to slide in for a try in the corner.

The second half saw the visitors up their game and after a period of sustained pressure they drove for a try which was converted.

The strong wind was making it difficult for Tavistock to clear their lines and the visitors pack were starting to dominate.

A yellow card for Ade Baker reduced the Tavistock ranks but their defending from several five metre scrums was impressive.

Services then increased their lead as the ball was passed out to the blindside from a 10 metre scrum for a try in the corner. The home side tried to hit back but could not find a way through and had to be satisfied with a losing bonus point in their final home game of the season.