Totnes RFC 15
Withycombe 32
Withycombe travelled to bottom side Totnes on Saturday for a match billed as a "potential banana skin" in Withies' run-in plans.
With five wins from their previous six starts, Withycombe have been enjoying a real purple patch of late and have their sights set on a top four finish. They started just as they finished the previous week's trouncing of Liskeard-Looe, Dave Smashmore using one of his trademark thumping runs to set the scene for Adam Morris to scamper over in the corner with less than five minutes on the clock.
The euphoria was not to last long, though. Withycombe appeared intent on letting Totnes back into the game, and after two woeful attempts at penalty goals, Totnes winger George Palk decided it might be better to simply score a try in the corner.
The levelling of the scores seemed to provide Withies with something of a kick up the backside, though they still seemed reluctant to take the lead. The comfortable green and black dominance in the set-piece meant there was little cause for panic; though this made the wasted chances all the more frustrating. First Mike Richards carelessly fumbled with the tryline begging, then Tom Steer missed a penalty when the referee finally decided to punish Totnes for lying on the ball.
It was to take another trademark charge from Dave Passmore to break the deadlock with five minutes before the half time break, this time charging over himself and taking three hapless Totnes defenders with him. There was just enough time before the break for Withycombe to gift Totnes a penalty for offside at the ruck, full-back Callum Prowse converting to make it 10-8 to Withycombe at the break.
Playing down the hill, Withycombe played with more industry in the second half, though it was "more of the same" for the first twenty minutes. An injection of go-forward from ben Mardle set the platform for the Withycombe forwards to pick-and-go until the Totnes defence gave way, with the returning Ben Wright making the decisive yards. Totnes skipper Tim Martin took advantage of some sloppy Withycombe defending to score an unlikely try under the posts just four minutes later, with Prowse converting to level the scores at 15.
Around the sixty-minute mark, Withycombe seemed to finally click and break the Totnes resolve. The arrival of Phil Sluman and Matt Brambles from the bench appeared to have the somewhat counter-intuitive effect of stoking Withycombe right up, though it took another ten minutes for it to show on the scoreboard. After yet another penalty in the Totnes 22, Richard Hall decided he'd had enough and crashed over from a quick tap to secure the lead and the four-try bonus point, leaving his best mate Dean Chisling with the simplest of conversions.
Chisling then put the tie beyond the likely reach of Totnes with a well-struck penalty with five minutes to go. It was 75 minutes into the match, and Withies appeared to be just getting started! A fantastic kick-and-chase a couple of minutes later gave Withies a final chance to impress with a five-metre scrum. Quick hands from the base gave Adam Morris the simplest of finishes for the second of his brace, apt reward for his recent run of form.
In truth, this was a match that Withycombe were never likely to lose, and although the final score may have flattered the victors slightly, it still represents an upward swing in Withycombe's fortunes of late. Six wins from seven now; 2013 will be interesting.
Withycombe: Steer, Morris, Hall, Passmore, Mardle, Chisling, Parry, Manning, D Richards (capt), Gibbons, J Perkins, Wright, Ferreday, Tuckett, Richards. Reps: Brambles, Sluman, Tanton
Tries: Morris 2, Passmore, Wright, Hall. Cons: Chisling 2. Pens: Chisling.
No comments:
Post a Comment