North Tawton 37

Devonport High School Old Boys 3

NORTH Tawton maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a hard fought victory over Devonport High School Old Boys.

Despite the wet conditions, North Tawton came out determined to play rugby and were immediately on the front foot. Twice they went close through wingers Tom Chisholm and William Sharp, before crossing for the first try on seven minutes.

A driving maul from a lineout 15 metres out saw the Tawton pack trundle towards the line, and with the visiting defence sucked in, scrum-half Jack Phare peeled off and fed Cameron Rickerby on the angle to touch down under the posts. Outside centre David Fewings went close to crossing the line minutes later.

Slick offloading by the home side created space for Fewings to break the line, only to be stopped five metres short. The ball was stripped in the tackle and the Old Boys cleared the danger.

The visitors closed the gap to two points mid-way through the first half, with a well struck penalty from the Tawton ten metre line.

Just as the visitors began to find their feet, North Tawton scored two quick fire tries on the stroke of half time.

The first was a result of the home side's dominant scrum, a strong drive five metres out pushing the Old Boys back over their line and allowing Phare to drop on the ball for an unconverted try.

The forwards again provided the platform for the third try, a powerful maul creating space for Simon Quick, on for Rickerby who offloaded to Michael Young passed to Fewings to touch down. The conversion was missed to give the home side a 15-3 lead at the break.

North Tawton came out with renewed vigour in the second half. Chisholm claimed the ball in his own 22, before tearing off downfield leaving three defenders in his wake. A tackle 20 metres from the Old Boys' line halted the attack. They added a fourth try within ten minutes of the restart. Another strong break from Quick opened up the visiting defence, Fewings taking the ball on the switch before offloading to Liam Wilkins to touch down. The conversion drifted wide.

The Old Boys began to tire and the home side capitalised with some clinical finishing. A kick and chase from the visitors ended with Sharp receiving the ball and evade two tackles to put Will Lethbridge over in the corner to make it 25-3. The pressure continued to build and another inside ball saw a one-two between Quick and Young with the former touching down for the sixth try of the match, the conversion wide again.

With the final whistle approaching, North Tawton produced a sensational try with Sharp again at the heart of the move. Taking the ball in his own half, Sharp beat half the opposition team before his floated pass found Quick on the charge. The centre drew two men before popping a pass over the top to Fewings dot down for the final time.

Fewings picked himself up to add the first conversion of the afternoon with the last kick of the game as Tawton ran out winners.