Withycombe v Paignton

Withy run the Paign Train

Bonus point eludes Withycombe as slippery conditions make tries hard to come by

Withycombe 17
Paignton 5

Withycombe caretaker Pete Farley had his hands full this week, but despite his best efforts, atrocious conditions at Raleigh Park dominated proceedings as two sides who tried to play rugby were hamstrung by the muddy conditions.

Paignton would come to rue their early penalty miss as from the ensuing 22 dropout, Joe Parkin intercepted a pass to run 70 metres all on his own to the Brook End to open the scoring against the run of play. Both sides found momentum hard to come by in an epic physical battle, with both sets of enormous forwards throwing themselves at each other for little gain. Tim Wills finally came of age as the late adopter won the man of the match award for his contributions in the heart of the attritional battles.

The sides turned around at 7-0 just as the hailstorm set in, and once Jon Axon returned from the sin bin a couple of minutes later, Withycombe found their groove in the ten minute spell that would seal the match. The pack began to dominate and stated their intent by rolling a maul 30 metres for Liam Cullen to dive over in Clubhouse Corner, a place which is fast becoming the Cheddar Man's spiritual home. Then eight minutes later with one of the Paignton second rows in the sin bin, at the 3rd five metre scrum of asking Mike Richards scored his customary no-effort try on the back of the efforts of his front five.

In the last quarter Paignton upped their game and Withycombe's attack lost its rhythm; not even the introduction of Dave Smashmore himself could get the Green & Black into the opposition half, and Paignton got their reward with a try with the game's last action. Though disappointing not to get the five points, Paignton are a side who will surely cause headaches for the other leading sides in the league; four points is no mean feat. Withycombe travel to Exeter Saracens next week before welcoming Gordano to Raliegh Park on the 14th in the RFU Senior Vase.

Withycombe: Jack Pugsley, Andy Matchett, Joe Parkin (1T), Tom Counsell, Terry Mears, Will Hockin, John Parkin, Chris Gibbons, Liam Cullen (1T), Sam Manning, Jon Axon (YC), Tim Wills (MoM), Andrei Toma, Eugene Badenhorst, Mike Richards (1T). Reps: Dan Carey, Dave Passmore, Glenn Channing (1C).