Withycombe v Bodmin

Withycombe 26
Bodmin 15

Withycombe have much to be hopeful for as a rusty performance was still enough to comfortably earn them a bonus-point victory against a determined Bodmin side.

The Cornwall & Devon new boys were full of vim following ther 40-point demolition job on local rivals Liskeard in the Cornwall Cup last week, but ran into rather stiffer opposition at Raleigh Park. After an early penalty opportunity sailed wide, Bodmin didn't really worry the scorekeepers until the end of the half. WIthycombe were industrious but lacking a finishing touch for much of the opening exchanges, despite having the upper hand at the set piece.

After 20 minutes the early season jitters settled somewhat when a simple set piece move cut the Bodmin defence wide open for Adam Morris to open the scoring under the posts. Glenn Channing converted, but that would be as good as Withycombe got until the second half. Bodmin slotted a penalty on 38 minutes to close the gap to 7-3, before Withycombe's best move of the match took them half the length of the pitch with half a dozen offloads, but the lack of a decisive edge showed again as the move came to nothing.

The result was all but decided after two minutes of action that effectively put Bodmin to bed. First, Glenn Channing threw two dummies and found himself in acres of space 40 metres from the Bodmin line. Like a dog waking itself up with a fart, Channing was more startled than the onlookers and just ran, his diesel-powered engine taking him under the posts. Then, from the kickoff Withycombe moved the ball wide early and a characteristic John Parkin break feeding Kev Rodwell before Aaron Conway finished the score. Channing again converted to make it 21-3 with 47 minutes gone.

It should have been plain sailing from there, but Withycombe's indiscipline had them pinned back in their own half. Terry Mears was sent to the sin bin for a late tackle, and while he was away Bodmin's backs used the territorial advantage to finally put the ball through the hands, making some space out wide and scoring in the corner to make it 21-8 with ten minutes remaining. Withycombe hit back with a quick tap penalty from John Parkin, with some clever hands giving Mears a chance to redeem his yellow card by scoring the bonus point try. Bodmin had a reply of their own with another well-worked backs try after their attempt at a lineout drive was stymied. With Bodmin chasing a losing bonus point in the dying seconds, Withycombe almost managed a breakaway try after a loose ball was hacked on but the chasers were too slow for Bodmin's covering full back. If Withycombe can build on this performance then improvement on last season's third place could be a realistic target. Next week Raleigh Park sees the 1st XV host Liskeard-Looe.

Danny Sansom, Kev Rodwell, Aaron Conway (1T), Joe Parkin (MoM), Adam Morris (1T), Glenn Channing (1T3C), John Parkin, David Wellbeloved, Dave Richards, Liam Cullen, Dave Sims, Jon Axon, Danny Parry, Terry Mears (1T, YC), Richard Hodges. Reps: Andrei Toma, Mike Richards, Leo Hood.