Withycombe v Ongar

Withycombe lose in cruellest of turns

 

Withycombe 87

Ongar 17

Ongar snatch victory from their hosts in the unlikeliest of fashions

 

The teams make up after the travesty
           

Withycombe welcomed refreshingly old-fashioned tourists Ongar for a run-out on Saturday afternoon, and succumbed to defeat despite dominating the game.

By the time the game kicked off at 1pm, the visitors had made the club financially viable for another season, quenching their healthy appetite in the club bar.

Referee James Grant was on uncharacteristically good form allowing the game to flow and of course penalising the home side for any instances of kicking the ball. Despite their handicap, Ongar were more handicapped and Withycombe ran in try after try.

In a very impolite move, someone was keeping score and the board read 87-10 to the home side with five minutes remaining, so Grant did the decent thing and declared the next try to be the winning score.

In an astonishing turn of events, a loose pass on the Withycombe 22 was scooped up enthusiastically by the tourists and returned for the decisive five-pointer.

Any ill-will felt by the home side at the injustice was soon brushed aside as the teams convened in the bar afterward. All in all, as tourists go Ongar are right up there, Withycombe definitely owe them a visit and would happily recommend them to anyone! Five stars *****

Withycombe v Totnes (Oliver Marsden Trophy)

Withycombe regain Oliver Marsden Trophy
 

Withycombe XV 33
Totnes XV 26

£250 raised for Cardiac Risk in the Young charity after Withycombe hold on to avenge last year's hammering

Withycombe and Totnes provided a spectacle of rugby to cap off their respective seasons and celebrate the life of former player Ollie Marsden on Sunday at Raleigh Park.

Ollie, just 21, collapsed at a training session in Totnes in 2008 and could not be revived. He played for Withycombe while a student at Rolle College and had been a popular member of both clubs. Since then the clubs have met annually to contest the memorial trophy and raise money for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young.

Withycombe lost the fixture for the first time last year in a very one-sided contest at Totnes, a repeat of which the hosts were understandably keen to avoid!

Withycombe flew out of the blocks and peppered the Totnes line with attack after attack, but it wasn't until Mike Richards worked a hole before offloading to Joe Parkin that the scoring commenced, Parkin racing over from 30 metres out. Minutes later Leo Hood had the opportunity to double the advantage but dropped the ball with the tryline begging.

In spite of the conditions, the home side looked most dangerous when they moved the ball quickly. A few quick recycles opened up the space down the left flank and Joe Parkin hacked ahead with Lee Tanton winning the foot race to dive on the ball in the in-goal area. Kevin "K-Train" Rodwell was next to score as he showed his pace and power away down the left flank, before circling back round under the posts.

Totnes got a try of their own, but Withycombe had the final word in the first half as Leo Hood showed off his soccer skills as Totnes again failed to deal with a kick, before Hood was held back and Chris Gibbons cut the unlikeliest of figures diving on the loose ball to score in his last game before departing to Australia.

With the score at 28-7, the game looked won but Totnes fought their way back into it, no doubt aided by Withycombe's exploits with a visiting touring side the previous day! After two well-worked tries and Withycombe's unwillingness to put pace into the game, the home side didn't look like scoring for much of the second half. That was until Richards and Parkin again combined for a score. A quick tap taken deep in the Withycombe half put the defence on the back foot and no one was catching Parkin once he got in behind the visitors defence. After his spotless first half from the tee, Tanton struggled kicking uphill and missed the ensuing conversion attempt to keep Totnes within two scores.

They got back one try to put themselves within touching distance but it was too little too late, and Withycombe held on as normal service was resumed in the Marsden Memorial game.

On the day, £250 was raised for the charity and the game was played in great spirit. Long may the tradition continue!

Withycombe v Crediton

Withycombe 23

Crediton 20

Withycombe signed off their season with a tenth win in 11 games in a hard-fought win over local rivals Crediton on Saturday.

With third spot in the league standings up for grabs, the Raleigh Park faithful were in for a treat as both sides came out with all guns blazing. A frantic initial burst from Withycombe gave Jack Pugsley the opening points of the game as he slotted a penalty with just a minute gone, and after the home side soaked up the pressure from a Crediton onslaught, Pugsley and Mark Lee exchanged penalty kicks to make the score 6-3.

 

Withycombe finally got over the tryline with a superbly taken counter attack try on 24 minutes. Rob Hayes made the initial break down the right wing, before passing inside to Adam Morris who lass beat the last man, allowing Richard Hodges to dash under the posts. Crediton again piled on the pressure before half time, but their only reward was Chris Gibbons' first yellow card of his career on 35 minutes as Withycombe turned round 13-3 up.

Gibbons' absence would cost Withycombe a penalty just before his reintroduction though as Crediton got the best of the home scrum for the only time in the game, allowing Lee to close the gap to seven points with a penalty conversion. The balance was redressed 6 minutes later when Withycombe won a scrum against the head going uphill on the Crediton 5 metre line, with Mike Richards running over two hapless Crediton defenders on his way to the tryline.

Crediton hit back with a try after Withycombe repeatedly failed to clear their lines to bring themselves back within five points, but the Green & Blacks hit back immediately. After two quick phases, Dave Richards, who had started the game moonlighting at fly-half rather than his usual position of hooker, was now playing blindside flanker and put Aaron Conway away in the top corner with the finest of miss-passes to extend Withycombe's lead to ten points with 24 minutes to go.

Withy once again struggled to work their way out of their own half, but Crediton would have to wait until the 75th minute to score, and even then it would come as a result of a charged down clearance kick. With the game in the balance again, Withycombe turned it on and drove the Crediton scrum back over their own line in the final play of the game. John Parkin was unlucky not to be awarded the bonus point try after he grounded the ball but the roar of Clubhouse Corner as the final whistle sounded was ample reward for the players' efforts. Withycombe supporters can surely look forward to a fruitful year next season on the back of the run since Christmas.

Withycombe v Pirates

Withycombe 69

Pirates Amateurs 8

Withycombe romped to another bumper scoreline in the wet in their penultimate game of the season last Saturday.

Jack Faulkner bagged four tries to take his tally to 12 in four games, but the match was well and truly decided up front as the Withycombe front five demolished the opposition.

Withycombe were straight on the offensive and it only took four minutes to break the deadlock. A deft chip from Glenn Channing penned the visitors on their own five metre line, and from the ensuing penalty Withycombe opted for the scrum which brought the now-obligatory Mike Richards short-range try. Another scrum in clubhouse corner two minutes later wheeled and Richards' pick and offload to Glenn Channing put him in for five of his 19 points on the day.

Pirates hit back with a penalty kick but Withycombe were in for another try on the quarter hour, some great handling leading to Aaron Conway playing provider for Leo Hood to touch down. The game went flat from a spectators' point of view for twenty minutes, but the Green & Black dominance at the set piece meant that Withycombe rarely had cause for concern; Chris Gibbons' masterclass in destructive scrummaging demonstrating what will be sorely missed once he leaves the club for Australia in the summer.

In the five minutes before half time the home side clinched the bonus point and effectively put the game to bed. Jack Faulkner scored twice, first finishing off a three-quarter move before a blindside move from a scrum in the Withycombe half let the Bicton College youngster show his lethal pace as he finished from 70 yards out. The teams turned round at 33-3 with Withycombe's best yet to com

Joe Parkin opened the scoring in the second half after good work from Rob Hayes and Andrei Toma, before Faulkner struck again after some silky handling from Leo Hood. The visitors grabbed a try of their own on 60 minutes as a defensive miscount allowed one the Pirates big boys under the posts, but their day was summed up when the conversion was missed. Four minutes later the try was cancelled out as Mike Richards strolled in from a tap penalty for the "easiest try he'll ever score", although he does score a lot of easy ones, before offloading from a quick tap in the Withycombe half four minutes later to Faulkner, whose finishing has to be seen to be believed, outrunning everyone from the centre of the field for yet another long-range score.

Richards completed his hat-trick after running on to a John Parkin offload and somehow finishing off from 40 metres out, before Withycombe scored with the last play of the game, another effort from their on half which was finished off by John Parkin.

 

Next week Withycombe host Crediton to decide third place in the league, with Withy also chasing a ninth win in ten games since Christmas.