Western Counties West

Okehampton 32

Crediton 5

OKEHAMPTON sit proudly atop of Western Counties West after a bonus point win in this resurrected derby fixture.

After Crediton’s promotion last term, the two near neighbours finally got the chance to renew acquaintances and compete for the Frank Webb cup once more.

Both sides were missing key players, mainly up front, but it was the hosts who were to come out on top after they finally broke Crediton’s early stubborn resistance.

It was the visitors, playing into the elements, who had the better of the early ruck side exchanges. Crediton kept it tight early on and playing keep ball with good technique they looked to keep the Okes out by dominating possession. The tactic worked well initially, but Oke slowly settled and by mid-way through the first forty had earned their first penalty shot at goal. Home skipper Tom Powell used the breeze to good effect to land a kick from the Crediton ten yard line to make it 3-0 to the Okes with a quarter of the match gone. Five minutes later Powell potted another goal from virtually the same spot to double the Okes’ advantage.

The home side then hit a 15 minute purple patch which completely changed the course of the match. After 29 minutes, scrum half Joey Bruce produced a deft chip ahead; winger Luke Honeychurch half regathered but in the act of juggling the loose ball, fortuitously ended up in the hands of the supporting Liam Sampson; he fed flanker Simon Cox, and the back rower ran the ball home to put the hosts 11-0 up. Powell added a fine extra two points from wide out for 13-0.

The next Oke score came three minutes later. The home side looked to have knocked on just before the ball was grounded but it was half back Bruce who, once more, was the architect with another fine kick into space. As bodies slid in in an attempt to regather, both sides seemed to knock on before home full back Gareth Espin pounced on the loose ball and the referee awarded the try much to the visitors’ displeasure. Powell rubbed salt into the wounds with another conversion to extend the Oke’s lead to 20 points after 32 minutes.

The Okes’ lead was extended after a fine solo effort from home fullback Espin as he danced through a gap in midfield then rounded the full back in style for a fine score. Powell converted from in front of the posts for 27-0 to Oke at the break.

Crediton regrouped, and as Oke made replacements the visitors started the second half on the front foot. Most attacks were repelled in midfield though, as the Okes increasingly efficient defence stood firm. The home side finally succumbed after 50 minutes with the visitors rumbling over in the bottom left corner — Ben Wonnacott emerging from the pile up to claim the try. The conversion was missed but this proved to be a wake up call for the Okes.

The Okes hunted the valuable bonus point try and slowly began to edge towards the Crediton 22 after 60 minutes. Player coach Gareth Evans was in the vanguard as the home pack set up an unstoppable rolling maul. Backs and forwards alike combined to cross the whitewash and it was flanker Dean Abrams that eventually grounded the fourth try that took the Okes to the top of the league.

The last quarter was a relatively quiet one, although one clean Crediton break was brought down by a fine cover tackle but that was

as close as it got for the visitors before the final whistle blew.

Crediton can rightly claim that the scoreline did not fully reflect their effort over 80 minutes. Oke however quietly went about their business and their fine unbeaten run, combined with a miserly defence, has set them up nicely for the second half of this keenly contested league campaign.