Crediton Quins 73 - Okehampton 3

AFTER the disappointment of the defeat at North Tawton the previous week, Crediton RFC Quins needed to bounce back and restore a bit of confidence against Okehampton Seconds and also keep up the pressure on the sides at the top of the table.

However, the opening quarter was totally dominated by the visitors as we struggled to get hands on the ball and there was certainly no indication of what the remaining hour of the game would bring.

Indeed it was the Okes who took the lead in the 15th minute with a penalty as their early pressure paid off but that was as good as it got for them.

Five minutes later, we paid our first visit to the Okes “22” and having earned a penalty we opted for a scrum some 10 metres out.

The first attack down the right was stopped but we then moved the ball left and winger Joe Dodge squeezed over in the corner, Tom Ronchetti landed a superb conversion from the touchline.

That try inspired the Quins and the floodgates opened.

From the restart, the ball was popped to flanker Sam Westcott whose pace took him past the Okes defence and a run in from half the length of the pitch to score at the posts, Ronchetti added the extras.

Again, the restart worked well for us as lock, Tom Mortimer fielded the ball and made ground before putting Westcott away for his second try of the game, again, Ronchetti converted.

Three tries in the space of four minutes had changed the whole complexion of the game and more was to come.

It was Westcott again who completed his hat-trick and secured the bonus point when he touched down off a driving maul, Ronchetti maintaining his 100 per cent record from the tee.

A catch and drive try for Mortimer soon followed as the procession of tries continued, again the extra points were added by Ronchetti. The forwards then turned over possession on the Okes “22” and the ball went through the hands for centre Tom Hunt to go over in the corner, the conversion drifted wide but in the space of 18 minutes we had scored 40 points.

The opening minutes of the second half was a much calmer affair, the visitors were able to deal with the constant flow of attacks and play was confined to midfield.

However, on 55 minutes it was Ronchetti who set up a try when nothing seemed to be on.

He collected a loose ball outside the Okes “22” and skipped through a couple of tackles before being tackled short of the line.

He manage to offload to Westcott who crashed over. Ronchetti landed the conversion to put us 47-3 ahead.

On 66 minutes, Okehampton attacked and a chip over the top was fielded by Freddie Borthen five metres off our line, a quick pass to winger Jamie Crang who made ground down the left touchline.

Some smart interpassing followed involving Josh Atkinson and Macca Jones who then put scrum half James Dodge away from half way for a really well worked try.

This time it was Sam Ronchetti, on as replacement for brother Tom, who landed the conversion.

As the game entered the last 10 minutes, Okes were awarded a penalty on their “22” but the kick didn’t find touch.

Winger Callum Yeandle fielded and scampered away down the touchline from 50 metres to score in the corner, the conversion was missed.

The Okehampton restart did not reach 10 metres and resulted in a scrum on half way. We attacked down the right and then switched inside where flanker Ben Harris raced over from 15 metres, Sam Ronchetti converted.

The pressure on Okehampton was relentless and in the final attack of the game, prop Macca Jones went over and Sam Ronchetti completed the scoring with the conversion.

Despite the scoreline, Okehampton never let their heads drop and they did have their moments but the Quins defence was in great form with some outstanding tackling.

With the exception of the opening quarter of the game, we were outstanding scoring 11 tries in that 60 minute period.

This was a very mobile pack and the running and handling throughout the side was at times exceptional.

• Last Saturday it was a great day for the Club with four wins from four games and the ladies made it five from five with their victory over Yeovil on Sunday.

On Saturday, the First XV entertain Teignmouth whilst the Quins travel in the opposite direction to play Teignmouth Seconds.

The Thirds host Ilfracombe whilst the Colts travel to Wadebridge. All tough fixtures and hopefully we shall keep the momentum going.

Paul Harris