Western Counties West

Okehampton 16

Burnham On Sea 13

PRIOR to kick off, both these sides were locked level on 51 league points apiece. No real surprise then that this game was a tight, tense, sometimes dour affair.

Playing down the slope the Okes got off to a flier in the first two minutes. Fly half Kevin Dennis grubbed through a kick ahead, and after the visitor's full back failed to gather it, home full back and sibling Matt Dennis gleefully collected the loose ball and crossed under the uprights. Younger brother Kevin added the conversion for a dream start.

Unfortunately it was a bit of a false attacking dawn, as the Okes failed to cross the whitewash for the remaining 78 minutes. This was due in no small part to the fact that both packs often seemed to cancel each other out.

In fact neither side had any real advantage at either scrum time or lineout. The Okes though had significantly improved defensively since the sides previous encounter.

The Okes did have the better of the opening half though, and their frequent territorial advantages allowed fly half Dennis the opportunity to add two confidently struck penalties to put Oke 13 points up at the interval.

The visitors, on their maiden trip to the showground, upped their intensity during the second half. The Okes struggled to glean much possession and therefore never really got their backs moving effectively.

The visitor's full back did manage to reduce the deficit through two simple penalty pot shots. However, replacement fly half Carl Poynton added three for the hosts with a well struck drop goal, to put the lead back to ten points entering the last quarter.

The sizable crowd, numbering plenty from the visitor's bus within their ranks, were sensing a tight finish to an already taut affair.

The Okes failed to hit anything like their best form and a lack of cutting edge meant all was still to play for. With time ticking away, pressure from the Somerset side eventually told. A poor missed tackle allowed veteran Tongan World Cup fly half Elisi Vunipola to force his way over beside the posts. The simple conversion was added and the Okes had only a three point lead entering the last minutes of the match.

Another league win was achieved, keeping the unbeaten run going for the home side, although it had been far from a fluent performance.