Devon one

Exeter Saracens 22

North Tawton 18

EVEN with a few older faces in the side to cover for injuries North Tawton  must have been confident of a good result on the back of the last two wins.

However, with just seven minutes on the clock they found them selves 12-0 down to a Saracens’ side that was not going to wait for Tawton to come to the party. It was not looking good for Tawton who struggled to get any ball for the first 20 minutes of the match.

Bit by bit the away side started to get into the game with scrum half Jack Phare enjoying more time behind the scrum; the scrum was dominant, pushing the Exeter side back at every opportunity.

A penalty from the boot of Alex Dennnis giving the tawts their first points of the game and the North Tawton side then began to play rugby. 

A third try for Saracens just before half time did not help Tawton’s cause and the half time score saw the visitors 17-3 behind.

However, Tawton upped their game in the second half and it was not long before Bill Sharp went over for a try in the corner; the missed kick reduced the score to 17-8 and the visitors were back in the game.

Sustained pressure from Tawton kept the game deep into the Saracens’ half, if not in their 22; some good play by forwards and back alike enabled Jack Phare to dive into a gap to score Tawton’s second try with the kick by Alex Dennis. Thhe away side were now only two points behind and looking a lot more comfortable than the home team.

A penalty by Alex Dennis took them into the lead for the first time in the match 17-18 but with still 15 minutes to go the visitors could not ease up at all as the Saracens throw everything at them in pursuit of ground and a chance of either a penalty or a try.

With only a minute or so to go the home team pushed over for what was the winning try making the final score 22-18 to the Exeter side.

It was hard on North Tawton to lose this game after coming back from 12-0 but they cannot afford to give a team such a lead to chase.

Dan Quinn was North Tawton’s man of the match for his scrummaging and work around the park.