NORTH TAWTON 20 - SALCOMBE 3

DRIVING out of Taw Meadow I was enjoying the heated seats that come with my van because I couldn’t get any wetter having stood on the touch line for the entire game in constant rain.

It was that horrible rain that comes from Dartmoor, gets you wet type of stuff.

For just a fleeting moment I wondered why I wasn’t sat in front of the telly watching England playing whoever, but if I had I would have missed the best game of the day.

This is what Devon rugby is all about, it doesn’t matter what league you are talking about, this was two well-matched sides making the best of the conditions.

On one hand you had the younger side in the shape of North Tawton and on the other, no disrespect, the older Salcombe somewise old heads, for sure.

In this side the bigger Salcombe pack giving the lighter Tawton side plenty to think about at scrum time but the Tawts are a lot more mobile moving the ball around with, at times, some good passing, just the final one going astray.

The home crowd, I am sure, were hoping that youth would tell, which it did in the end. That said it took until the 35th minute for North Tawton to score the first points of the game with Matt Baker getting the first of his two tries of the match.

The second of his tries, just before half-time gave the Tawts a 10-0 lead into the break.

Second half got under way with Salcombe making light of being a man down through injury and not having a replacement.

They pinned the home side well back inside their own 22 and at times it took some well managed defending to keep the 10 out and a converted penalty was scant reward for their efforts, 10-3 was the result 60 minutes in.

After a couple of missed kicks Dave Fewings got on the scoreboard with a try of his own, missed the kick, but the lead for Tawton is now 15-3.

The game is slowly getting away from a tiring Salcombe side.

With the rain still coming down sideways Tawton go in search of their fourth try.

The bonus point try and a good effort from Bill Sharp saw him go over for the well needed try, scoring with another missed kick, 20-3.

This proved to be the final score of the match, a good match played in not nice conditions. Who said rugby was a summer sport anyway?

Credit must go to both sides. Salcombe never gave up, even though they finished the game with only 13 players.

Man of the match was Ben Riches.

The next game will be Tawton’s first under new flood lights on Friday, November 17. There is a 7.30pm kick off for the game v the old foe Crediton Seconds.

To finish and prove how wet it really was, I was glad I didn’t get stopped on the way home as I am not sure how I would have explained to Mr Plod why I was driving in just my underpants and socks!

Chris Phare