Exeter Saracens v Withycombe

Saracens Succumb to Second Half Onslaught

 

Exeter Saracens 7

Withycombe 47

 

Freddie Fraser signed off for Withycombe with a hard-fought win that was not as straightforward as the scoreline would suggest.

 

With Fraser moving onto bigger things at National Two outfit Taunton, Withycombe managed to blood another two debutants, although Richard Hodges, beset by transport issue,s had to make his first appearance from the bench as penance for turning up after kickoff, allowing Tim Wills and evergreen Al Loaring to step into the breach. 

 

The ballast that provided in the scrum was immediately apparent, as Withycombe were comfortably on top, disrupting Sarries' own ball and making chances for themselves on their own feed. unfortunately, with the exception of a well-taken try on 12 minutes, their efforts went mostly unrewarded in the first half, to Phil Sluman's audible frustration at times.

 

Sam Conway snatched that only first-half score, after the "Richards One-Two" was used to devastating effect with Dave putting brother Mike through a hole just about big enough to accommodate him, before offloading back to Dave, with the supporting Sluman hauled down just before the line. Quick ball put Conway over in the corner for his 5th try of the season.

 

With Saracens narrowly escaping the concession of either a pushover or penalty try from a  series of close-quarter Withycombe scrums, it looked as though the great escape may be on when the teams turned round at only 5-0. 

 

Withycombe again had the run of the play as the second half started. With the wind at the back now, and with Sarries' centre partnership of Mat Hilton and Ben Croft under very close surveillance from Fraser and Aaron Conway, the pressure started to build. Mike Richards notched another try on 44 minutes, with Sam Conway adding a second on 52 as he rounded his man and raced underneath the posts. Saracens skipper Mat Hilton did make the most of a huge overlap with 20 minutes to go to bring the score back to 19-7, but Withycombe replied almost immediately, with No.8 Dan James finally scoring the pushover try after workmanlike Withy pushed the home pack over their own line for the third time that day.

 

After that, the home resistance evaporated somewhat as Jack Faulkner unleashed himself. With the visiting backs playing fast and loose, Faulkner's pace and agility got him a brace of tries, one either side of a lacklustre Mike Richards five-pointer. Jack Pugsley nailed all the second-half conversions to give the Green & Blacks an impressive winning scoreline of 47-7.

 

Struggling Newquay Hornets visit Raleigh Park next week for a fixture skipper Dave Richards calls a "potential banana skin". Said Richards: "Hopefully the firmer ground will let us get our exciting backs into the game, but Newquay like to play as well so we'll have to put in 110%".

Withycombe v Veor

Veor swept away by Green & Black tide

Withycombe 50

Veor 5

(Match abandoned after 60 minutes)

 

Basement boys Veor concede 50 in 60 minutes as Withycombe's wet weather gear gets more use!

 

Veor remain adrift at the bottom of the Cornwall & Devon league following a lesson in wet weather rugby at Raleigh Park.

Following yet another week of inclement meteorological conditions, Withycombe's ground staff again earned high praise for their workmanlike efforts in getting the pitch ready. By now the Green and Black Army ought to be the best in the west in the wet, their last five outings coming in washouts, and all wins at that. Veor are to be applauded for assembling a side at late notice; at 12 noon they were due to forfeit the fixture as they only had 13 players. As it was they somehow amassed 15 bodies by kick-off and it was game on.

Withycombe showed their hand early, showing no mercy as  they moved the ball wide off a stolen lineout with Sam Conway finishing with a try with just three minutes on the clock. Seven minutes later Fridge Gibbons popped up on the wing (as he is wont to do) to ghost over in exactly the spot front row compatriot Will Cole had three weeks previously. Channing hit the touchline conversion to make it 14-0.

On 22 minutes a five metre scrum gave the home side the platform to run a simple blindside move for Adam Morris to score in the corner. Two minutes later John Parkin secured the bonus point by hacking a loose ball from the back of a Veor scrum and falling on it in the in-goal area.
Veor spent a while after this camped in the Withycombe 22, exerting great amounts of pressure but ultimately coming away with nothing. Some great last-ditch defending from the home side covered for their penalty count and a Withycombe turnover relieved the pressure.

Soon after Veor spirits were crushed from a scrum move, as Aaron Conway worked a half-gap and popped inside to Mike Richards. Another inside pass to Jack Pugsley looked to be the scoring pass but Pugsley's hamstrings failed him as he was hauled down mere feet from the line. Quick recycling gave John Parkin the simplest of tasks to score his second. Mike Richards finished the scoring with a pick from the scrum base and slid just far enough to ground the ball on the line for a 36-0 halftime lead.

The worsening conditions in the second half made scoring points hard work, and the cold tired bodies of both sides lacked the urgency of the first half. Freddie Fraser's tireless legs found the energy to hack on a Jack Pugsley chip on 55 minutes though, the centre diving on the ball to score his sixth try of the season. Three minutes later Veor got their reward for making the trip, scoring a try of their own to possibly the biggest cheer of the day. Cornish character could not stop Sam Conway getting his second on 60 minutes though, and another Channing touchline conversion triggered the final whistle as the referee deemed the pitch unworthy of playing on. Withycombe travel to Exeter Saracens next week looking to continue their unbeaten post-Christmas run.

Withycombe v Falmouth

Withycombe crusaded to a hard-fought win in the mud at Raleigh Park on Saturday.

 

After a week of weather that would give Noah cause for concern, Withycombe's ground staff deserve high praise for getting the pitch ship shape in time for kickoff.

 

Falmouth are usually a tough proposition, and Withycombe had to summon the Corinthian spirit from the get-go. Luke Mingo's fantastic lineout take set the stage for a Withycombe rolling maul, which was manna from Heaven for Mike Richards who opened the scoring with his tenth try of the season. Both sides admirably tried to play good rugby in the wet, and Falmouth pounded at the Withycombe defence which held firm under considerable strain, and resisted the temptation of indulging in argy-bargy. The home side would be next to score when a set play from a scrum in the opposition 22 put Sam Conway away in the corner. Withycombe went in to the break 10-0 up with both sides lacking something of a finishing touch in attack.

In the second half Withycombe struggled to play rugby in the right areas of the field, with handling errors and some poor kicks allowing Falmouth to heap pressure on. This only served to showcase Withycombe's tireless and workmanlike defence though, and it eventually coughed up a try. John Parkin made two tackles on big forwards in succession, with a stray offload from the second one picked up by Adam Morris and gleefully returned 50 metres for a try in the corner.

Falmouth hit back with a converted try, but in the final quarter Withycombe controlled the game much better, pinning Falmouth into their own half and pressing hard for a bonus point try at the end.

 

The front five had dominated all day and essentially set the platform from which Withycombe won the game. Owing to some clever ploys from the visiting pack, Withycombe's series of five metre scrums didn't yield a bonus point try, but Withycombe's Holy Trinity of fours was safe: their fourth win in four games elevated them to fourth in the league, with their eyes firmly on chasing down Crediton in third. Andrei Toma was awarded the man of the match accolade for his seemingly neverending tackle count, turning up everywhere Falmouth's talismanic number eight Sam Bailey did and refusing Falmouth front-foot ball. Basement boys Veor visit next weekend for a game which promises to be all fire and brimstone.