Withycombe v OPM

Withy return to winning ways with five-try victory over Plymothians

 

Withycombe 29

OPM 20

 

Withycombe got back in the winning habit with a physical but workmanlike performance against their wizened mid-table opponents.

 

Their margin of victory might have been convincing but for 9 missed points from the tee and a last-play try which closed the difference to nine.

 

A missed penalty chance was Withycombe’s only return for their first quarter efforts while both sides were duking it out for physical supremacy. The home side took the lead on 25 minutes with Will Cole busting over from close range, only for the visitors to hit back just five minutes later to cut the lead to 5-3.

 

Jack Faulkner had another strong showing after his six-try demolition of Newquay three weeks ago, and it was one of his long breaks (in spite of the close attention he was being paid) that teed up Mike Richards for a characteristic close range flop to guide Withycombe to a 10-3 half time lead.

OPM had the running of the early second half, and kicked one of their two penalty chances to pull the score back to 10-6 before Withycombe’s indiscipline cost them a player to the sin bin; Jon Axon being the rather large straw that finally broke the camel’s back in this strong visual metaphor.

This only served to whip Withy into shape though, they hit back while playing with 14 men as Gunboat Glenn Channing made a half-break which allowed Adam Morris to score in Clubhouse Corner, Jack Pugsley converting to make it 17-6.

 

With seven minutes to go, OPMs scored a try under the posts to close the gap to 17-13 but this again seemed to invigorate the home side as they scored two tries on the bounce to finally vanquish their worthy opponents. Offloading was at the heart of both tries as Aaron Conway benefitted first before the very welcome sight of Rob Hayes scoring for Withycombe again was seen straight from the ensuing kickoff. At 29-13 with a minute to go, the game was won but Withycombe were still keen to attack. A handling error clos the OPM line gave the visitors a scrum and the final attack of the game, where they ran from behind their own line to score under the posts at the Brook End.

Withycombe’s next home game is against Pirates Amateurs on the 5^th April, with the season finale the following week as Crediton visit Raleigh Park.

Tiverton v Withycombe

Tiverton 14

Withycombe 13

 

Withycombe came out second best in the second meeting between what appears to be the Cornwall & Devon league's best-matched sides.

Tiverton bested Withycombe 17-14 at Raleigh Park earlier in the season despite leading for only 4 of the game's 80 minutes, and this game was to prove just as "nip-and-tuck".

The scoreboard remained untroubled for 35 minutes, with the majority of the play in the Withycombe half. Withy rode their luck at times, and Tiverton might have been a score or two up had they taken the points rather than seek tries in presumptuous pursuit of the bonus point.

With Glenn Channing sent to the sin bin on 30 minutes though, Tiverton put their one-man advantage to good use, moving the ball wide on an overlap and scoring the opener.

 

Ten minutes into the second half, Withycombe hit back. Chris Gibbons provided a powerhouse display, exemplifying the Withycombe front five all day, and after several strong scrums on the Tiverton five metre line the ball was moved wide with a penalty advantage, not that Jack Pugsley needed it as he barged his way over in the corner. There was some controversy over the conversion as Channing and most of the touchline convinced it had gone over, but the touch judge calling it wide as it sailed high over the post.

 

Shortly afterwards, frustration with Tiverton's shenanigans at the breakdown boiled over as Phil Sluman saw red in every sense of the word. Withycombe would have to play the remaining half hour with 14 men, though fortunately the penalty sailed wide and seemed to galvanise the away side. The touch judges made no mistake with Channing's 60-minute penalty to nudge Withycombe in front, before supersub Leo Hood's first touch proved magic with a chip and chase solo effort to score in the corner.

Withycombe's precarious six-point lead would not last, alas, as a mistake from the kickoff gave the impetus straight back to the home side. A sustained period of pressure in the Withycombe 22 ended with an impressive short side move that gave Tivvy a score in the corner, the nerveless touchline conversion putting them back in front with minutes to go.

Though Withycombe's hearts were willing, the legs were tired and Tiverton's astute kicking kept Withycombe in their own half until the final whistle. Heartbreak for Withycombe, but after seven straight wins, pushing the runaway promotion winners this close at home will give some idea of what may be possible next year. Next week sees Tavistock visit Raleigh Park for a second team clash, before league rugby resumes on the 22nd with the visit of Old Plymothian & Mannameadians.

Withycombe v Newquay

Six-try Faulkner puts Withy in Seventh Heaven

Withycombe 72

Newquay Hornets 0

Withycombe's seventh win on the bounce since Christmas has set up a mouthwatering clash with title-chasing Tiverton next week, but the talk of the village on Saturday night was Jack Faulkner, who set a club record in bagging six tries in a league match.

Straight out of the blocks Faulkner was a menace, carving up from a set piece and offloading to Adam Morris to open the scoring. Six minutes later Mike Richards used the scrum to score Withycombe's second with a pushover effort. Faulkner then opened his account after a scrum won against the head gave him space to finish in the corner from distance. Richard Hodges then scored after some great interplay from the forwards and backs to wrap up the bonus point by half-time. At 24-0, Withycombe were comfortably in the driving seat in all departments, with Newquay struggling to win any first-phase ball whatsoever.

In the second half though Withycombe, and Faulkner in particular, put on the afterburners to leave Newquay trailing in their wake. First a loose ball from a Newquay lineout was snaffled by the home side, Glenn Channing spotting a wide-open Faulkner on the far side and putting the cross-field kick in acres of space for Faulkner's second. A minute later a kick ahead was regathered by Faulkner before outpacing the defence to cap his first hat-trick.

Not content with outpacing and outflanking the Hornets defence, Withycombe were keen to show that they could go through the opposition too. A couple of impressive driving maul tries, first from Will Cole and then Fridge Gibbons, put them 46-0 ahead, before it was back to business as usual with Leo Hood putting Faulkner away for his fourth. Richard Hodges got on the end of another bit of nice interplay from the forwards and backs before being shown a yellow card, not that it seemed to matter as Faulkner scored two length-of-the-field tries to round off his second hat-trick.

Withycombe 2nd XV narrowly went down at Crediton in the Merit Table. From 24-14 up, the sin binning of Glyn Cooke and Josh Bancroft cost them dearly as Crediton came back to win 26-24. Tries cam from Glen Layton (2), Keegan Ferreday and Neil Sharland. Layton kicked two conversions.