Western Counties West

Okehampton 23

Teignmouth 30

OKEHAMPTON failed the first test of the 2013-14 campaign. Newly promoted Teignmouth certainly had a much bigger and more experienced pack and used the element of surprise effectively, particularly in the first quarter of the match.

After four minutes the visitors struck first. A powerful line out catch and drive down the slope, saw the Okes' pack offer little in the way of resistance. Hooker Parsons was the last with hands on the ball, the conversion was missed.

Okehampton have lost many more of their promising youngsters to other local clubs, albeit many at a higher level. This has resulted in an even more youthful and inexperienced side taking the field. This was demonstrated fully as Oke continued to self-destruct in the opening twenty. After only seven minutes Oke made a mess gathering a kick ahead. A loose inside pass and failure to secure the bouncing ball, allowed Teignmouth to double their try count. Mike Saxton gleefully accepted the gift score, and added the extra two to take the lead to 12 points.

The Okes seemed shell-shocked by the visitors start and panicked in possession and winning virtually no lineout possession.

Teignmouth's third try came when the Okes did not compete at another defensive line out, and failed to stop the resultant drive. Hooker Parsons once more was last up from the melee. Although the conversion was missed, Oke were 17-0 down.

Okehampton's normally powerful scrum was also below its best, and more turnover ball allowed Saxton to add another three pointer after half an hour, to extend the visitors lead to 20 points.

One of the few plus points for Oke was a performance of promise from young fly half Billy Searle, who demonstrated some good touches, It was Searle who put the Okes on the board before the break with a well struck penalty to 20- 3 as the whistle blew for the end of the half.

Oke did improve after the break although it was not significant enough to turn the match completely.

The Okes managed to secure a modicum of possession, and when they finally managed to string a back line move together, they stretched the visiting defence sufficiently to create an overlap on the left flank. Winger Matt Dennis took the scoring pass, and when Searle added the conversion, the deficit was only seven points with over a quarter of the match remaining.

However, the Okes they slipped back into their old ways, and allowed the Teigns to rumble around the fringes, and through their driving maul. Home scrum half Joey Bruce saw yellow, as Oke conceded yet another penalty that allowed Saxton to take their lead back up to ten points. A hamstring injury to centre Luke Honeychurch compounded the host's problems, and it was almost inevitable when the visitors the waltzed through some weak defence up the blind side fringe. An inside pass found visiting back row Pattison, who scored besides the uprights to seal victory. The conversion was added, and with only a handful of minutes remaining, all the hosts had to play for was a losing bonus point. At least they were up to this final task, as the visitors ultimately ran out of steam. A late yellow card came for the Teigns, and Oke forced a penalty try from a set scrum. Searle converted, and slotted a penalty shortly after as Oke finally applied some pressure. It was too late to force a victory though, and Teignmouth finished on the offensive as the final whistle went.pm.