St Ives 27
A spirited Withycombe performance was not enough to best high flying St Ives at Raleigh Park on Saturday. Following their thumping at Tiverton the previous week, rumours about the strength of the side that the Hakes would send to Devon abounded, whilst Withycombe's thrashing by Teignmouth last week left questions about their capability of dealing with the best sides in the league.
As it turned out, Ives fielded what they called "their strongest side of the season", but struggled to deal with Withycombe's tenacity at the breakdown in the early phases. Withycombe took the lead after 10 minutes with a Jack Pugsley penalty, only to concede a try straight afterwards, a trait that is fast becoming characteristic and one that should look to be addressed. Following the missed conversion, Withy slowly took a grip of the game. Whilst they struggled in the lineout, man of the match Terry Mears and Dan Mather made pests of themselves at the breakdown, with half backs Mike Symons and Jack Pugsley making the most of their front foot ball. Ives were lucky to keep 15 men on the field after two cynical penalties were conceded deep in their 22, both converted by Pugsley to give Withycombe a 9-5 lead. Withy skipper Dave Richards can count himself unlucky after a textbook tackle was deemed a fraction late and he was harshly sin binned with 6 minutes of the first half remaining. Another try for the visitors gave them a slender 10-9 lead at the half but Withycombe's fast and loose rugby surprised seemingly everyone, and the noise from the sidelines gave the players a welcome boost.
Ives drew first blood in the second half with a Cieron Thomas penalty, but Withycombe's persistence paid off as Dan Mather's offload put Jack Pugsley through, his turn of pace flummoxing the Ives full back as he raced under the posts on 60 minutes. The conversion took Pugsley's tally for the day to 16. With the pace of the game much higher than of recent, fitness levels dropped off in the last 20. Withycombe were lucky when Thomas uncharacteristically missed a penalty from just outside the 22, but far from trying to hold on for the win, Withy scented blood. A break from their own 22 had the St Ives defence on their knees, but a dropped pass was pounced on by the St Ives centre who ran it back under the posts. The minds were willing, but the Withycombe bodies had given everything, and Ives crossed again from a set lineout move to gift them a bonus point and a flattering result away from home. Withycombe travel to mid-table Newquay next week, looking to arrest a run of three consecutive defeats. Play like this, and they surely will.
