North Tawton 33

Plympton Victoria 3

IT was a case of getting the job done as North Tawton left Plympton with the maximum five points but underperformed against a much improved Victoria side.

With conditions torrential and a postage stamp sized pitch, Tawton were made to work hard for the victory.

The game was riddled with handling errors from both sides, allowing it to become a front row's dream with the number of scrums. It was from one of the mentioned that the stand in front row of Michael Young, David Gibson and Hammy Kerswill made amends for a three quarters handling error to turn over the proceeding scrum allowing Alex Dennis to break free and score under the posts on the ten minute mark. Craig Dennis converted.

With the ball regularly entering both halves from the boot, it was an open game for either side to win. North Tawton, however, did make the most of their opportunities and made them count when in the red zone.

The second try of the game came fresh off the training paddock as a Victoria clearance resulted in a driving maul from the 22 seeing Dan Dennis claim the five pointer. In a relatively competitive first half Plympton spoilt any possibility of another clean sheet for Tawton as an infringement led to a three pointer for the hosts.

The second half saw North Tawton pull away from Victoria but they were once again made to work for their points. A breakaway from Jordan Cornthwaite in open play and some quick thinking from Alex Dennis put distance between the sides but little of the play was structured — mainly due to the poor playing conditions. There was an element of interplay in the latter part of the game as Jake Ayris earnt his man of the match title with a number of barracking runs into opposition territory. This flounced Victoria who became exposed down the blindside allowing Ben Hancock to whistle over the line with ease. Craig Dennis converted his fourth set of extras bringing the final score to 33-3.