Devon two

Salcombe 3

North Tawton 24

NORTH Tawton felt a sense of deja vu as they boarded the bus and departed down south to replay Salcombe in the league after it was abandoned two weeks previously. Thankfully it did not prove to be a wasted trip as North Tawton eventually bagged the win and the bonus point to go with it, putting them back on top of Devon two.

The first half mirrored that of the previous fixture as North Tawton were made to work hard by the Crabs, as their big forwards harried tirelessly at the brick wall that is North Tawton's defence.

Tawton were first to strike as Jordan Cornthwaite picked up loose ball from midfield and glided through a number of would be tacklers on his way to the line for the opening score.

Chris Drew did reduce the deficit moments later with a well taken penalty goal in front of the sticks. This was to be all of the action in the first half as half time closed in with the score at 5-3.

The half time talk was a simple one for the Mid-Devonians as they simply had to maintain what they were already doing and wait for the Salcombe pack to tire. Much credit must go to the Tawton pack who worked tirelessly in the set piece – a complete turnaround to the previous fixture were Salcombe where dominant.

Pete Wonnacott and Dan Quinn were particularly notable come scrum time for the visitors. It was from one of these scrums that North Tawton gained the next score, Matt Dennis finishing off a neat backs move under the posts for his cousin Alex to convert.

It was at this point that North Tawton started to look comfortable. Much of the first half saw countless handling errors and resultant scrums despite a lovely day for running rugby; this was, however, put straight and North Tawton were back to their normal free flowing selves.

With 15 minutes to play North Tawton bagged their third and fourth tries and vital bonus point try in similar fashions. Jake Ayris assisted Simon Quick in both cases as both tries were scored from a distance, travelling through a number of Tawton hands in the process.

Alex Dennis converted both tries to bring the final score to 24-3.