South West one West

Okehampton 5

Drybrook 53

A YOUNG Okes side suffered defeat for only the second time at home this season, as they came off second best against their well drilled visitors.

This rearranged match was always going to be a tough ask for an Oke side missing half a side. Take nothing away from the high flying visiting side though, they dominated for long periods and took full advantage of every Oke error or missed first up tackle.

On a bitterly cold afternoon with an icy breeze blowing up the slope, the Okes played downhill first up. The home side made a lively start but as was the case for much of the match, they kept possession and moved the ball nicely, but were unable to make a decisive incision through the visitor’s strung out defensive line. When the visitors did get the ball in the sixth minute they showed the clinical nature required as they moved the ball wide to cross to take an early lead. The conversion was well struck and the Okes were behind 7-0.

Okehampton continued to share possession and territory, with replacement prop Joe Mawle and lock Karl Pearce both contributing decent carries, but again nothing threatening was forthcoming.

Eventually Drybrook re-entered the Okes twenty two and were almost immediately rewarded with a straightforward penalty kick to extend their lead to ten points.

The remaining 15 minutes of the half saw the visitors score their second try, as a cut back through the middle knifed through some flimsy defence. This was shortly followed by yet another penalty, on the brink of half time, which made the interval scoreline 20-0 to the visiting side.

Okes had been far from their best, but prompted by a lively Dan Foggarty playing at nine, they perhaps did not deserve to trail by a twenty point margin at the break.

The second half commenced but unfortunately for Oke they continued to rack up the penalty count against them, whilst the home side failed to secure enough possession to stretch the visiting defence.

Drybrook struck again after 45 minutes for their third score down the left flank, which was soon followed by the bonus point score as a powerful replacement forward crossed underneath the bar. The Okes were now trailing 32-0 and as the home side, still without a recognised hooker, struggled to win any lineout ball, possession was becoming increasingly scarce.

Former Okes’ skipper Tom Powell then saw yellow, although there may well have been a case of mistaken identity, but the visitors took further advantage with another for their try tally, this time from a routine catch and drive, supplemented by a touchline conversion.

At 39-0 down ,and with a quarter of the match remaining, the Okes roused themselves and finally strung  enough phases together to sufficiently stretch the visiting cover. A miss pass allowed Okes winger Kieran Lee to dive over in the corner for a score the home side’s effort fully deserved.

The match entered the last 12 minutes and the strong visiting bench was now having a major impact. This combined with tired, missed first up tackles  from the Okes saw the visitors rack up another two tries to pass the 50 point mark.

The Okes were guilty of attempting to tackle too high on both occasions as strong hand offs created holes in the home defence. The final whistle blew and the rare occurrence of a sizeable home defeat was confirmed.

The Okes always knew this would be  a tough encounter, even if they had managed to field a full strength side. Drybrook have the benefit of several years experience at this level and their consistency of performance and selection sees them battling it out with Exeter University for promotion to level five. The Okes will learn from this encounter.