South West one West

OKEHAMPTON 42

THORNBURY 18

ON a dry but bitterly cold afternoon at the Showground, the Okes celebrated being named Tribute South West league team of the month for September in fine style.

Thornbury have been on an excellent recent run of form with five consecutive victories under their belt. They began against the slope but with the benefit of the biting breeze. The visitors battled gamely but ultimately the Okes proved too strong.

The hosts started ferociously, as they sought to build a first half lead with the slope in their favour. Multiple phases tested the Thorns’ defence and they eventually went offside, allowing Richie Friend to put the Okes three points up with just a couple of minutes gone.

The restart went straight into touch and the Okes had a scrum on halfway as a result. Skipper Tom McGrattan picked up from the base of a solid set piece and charged off up the short side. Using his pace to shoot through a gap he set off downfield and the number eight rounded the full back, before diving over in the bottom right corner for a classy individual effort. Richie Friend landed the excellent conversion the score deserved, and the Okes were off to a dream start.

The visitors did not help their cause with another botched restart and the Okes were soon battering away once more. Concerted Okehampton pressure eventually forced an attacking scrum, which, although failing to advance significantly, set the platform for another series of attacks which eventually brought forth the second five pointer.

After several phases, hooker Gareth Evans hit an angle from short range and powered over under the bar on 12 minutes to further extend the hosts advantage. Friend potted the simple extras and at 17-0 and all seemed fine and dandy for the Maroon and Ambers.

However, slowly the visitors grew into the match. Play was evenly matched for the next period, before on 22 minutes the Okes conceded a penalty bang in front, which allowed visiting centre Jake Wood to reduce the margin to 14 points.

The Okes responded and re-entered Thornbury territory but were pinged at a breakdown. The resultant kick found touch deep in the Oke 22 and the hosts were now under some real pressure. The lineout was secured, and Thorns threw their backs into the rolling maul created, to force the Okes back towards their own goal line. Eventually, centre Tom Luke came up with the grounded effort to put the visitors right back in the match as the half hour mark loomed.

Now with just a seven point advantage, the Okes needed to quickly reassert themselves. Their cause was soon aided by a Thorns second row seeing yellow for lack of arms in a tackle. The hosts’ penalty count grew though to negate their superiority until the half ticked into its last minutes. Finally a penalty to the Okes set up an attacking position, and a lineout to boot. A catch and drive was initially repelled and after several attempts to crack the line, it took the bulk of Rob Dugard to make the breakthrough. The powerful tight head proved unstoppable from his favoured distance of a yard. The extras were awry, but it was a great time to score for the hosts. Half time was imminent but the Okes still managed to lose flanker Dean Abrams to the bin in the time remaining, and were forced to defend another attacking lineout before the interval finally arrived with the 12 point lead intact.

The Okes uphill task was slightly negated by the wind in their favour, while good early use of the boot saw play settled in midfield as the half slowly evolved. Strong carries from Rhys Palmer and Gaz Evans saw the Okes making yardage without creating a clear opening.

On 53 minutes, pressure forced a Thorns infringement which was penalised by the boot of Richie Friend to extend the Oke’s advantage to 15 points.

The Bristol based visitors were not lying down however and they responded with another well struck effort from the boot of Wood at the end of the third quarter. The Okes needed a strong last 20 to seal the match and their fitness and strong bench played a part.

On 62 minutes a snipe from scrum half Joey Bruce, followed by an inside offload, nearly saw prop Pat Nash get over the whitewash, but he was deemed just short by the man in the middle. The Okes ramped up the intensity and an attacking scrum proved far more fruitful. Captain Tom McGrattan had his scoring boots back on, and after the Okes’ front five had done the donkey work with a strong second shove, the Okes’ number eight picked up and powered over from short range for his brace and a bonus point try. Keiran Lee took over kicking duties and was successful to make it 32-13 with just under ten remaining.

The Okes then briefly went off the boil. An overthrown lineout and some over rushed midfield defence saw a bouncing ball reach Thornbury left winger Hussey in space, and he crossed for the visitors’ second try, although it appeared too little too late to influence the final outcome.

The Okes upped their game immediately and replacement centre Bevan Armitage was soon embroiled in the thick of the action. Firstly, on 77 minutes he was on the end of some fine Okes interplay to cross for his maiden Oke five pointer. Then two minutes later he received his first yellow card for backchat, as the Okes felt harshly done by a penalty award.

As the match reached its conclusion the Okes came yet again, and their increasing dominance was rewarded with a sixth try. After a clean lineout take, several drives ended up with Richie Friend, now restored to the fray, forcing his way over amongst a pile of bodies to seal the victory. The kick was missed, but at 42-18 when the final whistle blew, the Okes were delighted with a fine afternoon’s work against such strong, in form, opposition.