SALTASH 13 - CREDITON 22

THE serious injury to Second Fifteen captain Dale Palmer on February 27 was uppermost in everyone’s mind when the First and Second Fifteen’s travelled to Saltash last Saturday.

The emotion of the day could not be underestimated and both sets of players deserve high praise, not just for winning but the fact that they simply wanted to play.

Under normal circumstances, the outcome of the First Fifteen game would have had huge importance as a relegation battle which we could not afford to lose. However, that was of little relevance to the players who simply wanted to win for Dale.

The game itself was at times somewhat scrappy but in fairness, we seldom looked in serious trouble and probably deserved to win by more.

The forwards prove far too strong for the home side and the game was settled in that particular area of the game.

The first half saw us playing up the slope and against the wind but the opening quarter was all Crediton and whilst we did open the scoring as early as the eighth minute, we should in fact have been ahead before then.

The driving maul which we have used successfully over the season proved the achilles heel for Saltash and it was lock Josh Lee who went over. Brother Mark landed the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

Chances to increase the lead came and went and it was very much against the run of play that Saltash levelled the score.

A kick through the Crediton defence created a bad bounce and the miss-field was pounced on by their winger who dashed over to leave a simple conversion.

Within six minutes, Mark Lee put us back in front with a penalty but the hosts responded with two of their own as the penalty count against us seemed to mount.

The three point deficit never really looked a problem with the elements and slope in our favour. However, Saltash did on occasions look dangerous with the ball in-hand but generally they had to attack from too deep and seldom threatened.

Josh Lee then grabbed a second try, again from a driving maul with Mark landing the extras to give us a four point lead. The game reached a stalemate although we dominated territory we could not find a way through.

A series of five metre scrums were held in check by Saltash as were more driving mauls although we did feel that a penalty try should have been given after a maul had been dragged down just short of the line.

Eventually, we did get the vital score to provide breathing space although it came when our possession was turned over by the home side just short of their line.

However, the Ashes were forced over their own line and No 8 Mark Nott stripped the ball and touched down. Lee’s conversion hit the post.

Victory relieved the pressure for us in the fight against relegation, but to the players especially it meant much more than that.

SALTASH SECONDS 5 - CREDITON SECONDS 45

Things didn’t start well for Crediton and within five minutes of the start Saltash got an early try following a good three-quarter move which went the width of the pitch.

The ‘Quins struggled to get any momentum into their game and it was only good defensive play which prevented Saltash from scoring again.

However, once they had settled it soon became apparent that the home side would struggle and on 25 minutes Crediton got the score they desperately wanted.

A strong break in mid-field by centre Jordan Pring took play into the Saltash half and following several offloads winger Brad Baker went over in the corner for an unconverted try.

The game was still evenly balanced and whilst Crediton seemed to be getting the upper-hand in the forwards the Saltash backs always looked sharp when given the chance.

Just before half-time Crediton went into the lead when another good line break on the half-way line saw the ball being moved through the hands of several players with Andy Pennington getting the final touch down and full-back Phil Anning adding the extras for a 12-5 half-time lead.

Crediton made changes to personnel and tactics for the second half and within two minutes of the re-start added to their score following a sustained period of play in the Saltash “22” and which saw the ball being recycled numerous times before Scott Mills powered over for a try which Anning converted.

Two minutes later lock Josh Pearse added another try when he broke through the Saltash defensive line and outpaced everybody to touch down for a well-deserved try, Anning adding the extras.

Jamie Cheffings was next on the scoreboard when he was up in support of an attacking move as he ran a good line off the ball carrier to go over for a converted try, Anning again added the two points.

The Crediton forwards were now dominant and their powerful ball carrying was gaining metres and providing the backs with some quality ball. No 8 Raf Zappia was next to score and once again this came from some good ball retention and phases of play before he took a crash ball at pace and powered his way over for a converted try which Anning improved upon.

Crediton’s final score came from lock Richard Gray. A line out on the Saltash five metre line resulted in the ball bouncing around in the Saltash goal area and Gray was the first to react and dived on the ball for a try, Phil Anning again adding the extras.

This was a powerful second half performance from a Crediton team determined to do well for their injured skipper.

PH