Devon one north and east

North Tawton 29

Topsham 0

AFTER a one week break in their league programme North Tawton came back with a resounding win over Topsham, reversing the result of earlier in the season when North Tawton were beaten in the away fixture.

The writing was on the wall for Topsham from the first set scrum when the Tawton pack pushed them off their own ball to set up an early dominance it that phase of the play.

Unfortunately the week's break had the reverse effect on the ball-handling, with passes failing to go to hand or being fumbled; the final score could have been a lot higher but for this.

However they got it together to set up the first try for their inside centre after a break had been made and the ball passed to outside centre David Fewings who was held up about ten metres out. The ball was passed back to his supporting centre who stepped back inside to score close to the posts, giving Fewings a good shot for the conversion and the first seven points.

A long clearance by Tawton's full back Bill Sharp was followed up well and brought a penalty for Tawton as Topsham held on to the ball. David Fewings stepped up to slot a 30 metre kick and take Tawton into a 10-0 lead.

Topsham staged a comeback with a strong driving maul, pushing the Tawton pack back and showing they had not come just to make up the numbers. Their kicking from hand was not good however, and they could not take advantage of their chances.

As the half time whistle approached Tawton once again drove Topsham back in a scrum from about ten metres out and when the ball bobbled loose in the in-goal area Tawton's Mike Young pounced on it to score a try. Fewings once again did the honours to give Tawton a 17-0 lead at the break.

Early in the second period an indecisive bout of kicking tennis was finally resolved as Tawton worked their way back into Topsham's 22 metre area. They failed to capitalise on the territory gained, giving away penalties and letting the Topsham defence off the hook.

Finally it all came together with good support play from Tawton captain Keith Jones coming in off the wing and threading his way through for another try. This time the conversion struck a post and failed to count. Topsham responded well with a strong attack calling for a sustained defence from the home side.

Determined tackling, notably from Mike Young, helped to break down the offensive and North Tawton were able to finally clear their lines.

The domination of the set scrums was such that Tawton could count on the ball coming their way whichever side was putting in and the tight five deserve a mention in full; Tom Phillips, Alfie May, Pete Wonnacott, Paul Turner and James Henshaw.

It was a credit to Topsham's work in the lineouts and the loose mauls that they had managed to keep the score down but North Tawton had the last say. Coming from another good scrum drive 15 metres from the Topsham line Steve King broke off from number eight and the ball was fed back inside to flanker Rom McBain who forced his way through the defence to score another try. Fewings completed a good day with another conversion.