Tiverton 10
Withycombe arrested a slide of two home defeats with a hard-fought draw against third-placed Tiverton on Saturday.
In atrocious conditions, both teams were to be applauded for their eagerness in playing positive rugby. In spite of this, the game remained scoreless at halftime. Though both teams had made forays into opposition territory, the standing water made it difficult for the sides to find a cutting edge. Withycombe looked to be at a disadvantage when second row Tom Caygill was sin binned with 20 minutes to go, but broke the deadlock in his absence with a penalty in front of the posts from Jack Pugsley.
Withycombe's composure had deserted them in the latter stages of games recently, and today looked to be no exception. Having worked so hard to get the lead, Withy conceded a pick-and-go try in soft fashion which was converted to make it 7-3 in Tiverton's favour. A petulant penalty on the Withy 22 allowed Tivvy to stretch away to 10-3, and Withycombe's hopes of getting anything the game were looking slim with five minutes on the clock. In a showing that showed maturity beyond their years, WIthycombe worked back up to the Tiverton 22, and having held their nerve with three lineouts in the top corner, were awarded a penalty try on the last play of the game, to the delight of Clubhouse Corner. Pugsley's nerves of steel held out as he slotted the conversion to cement the two points. Withycombe will be looking to build on this performance when they host Saltash next week at Raleigh Park.
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