Crediton 17 - Okehampton 24

CREDITON Rugby Club First XV suffered another setback on October 12 with this disappointing home defeat against Okehampton and it was the first time in over two years that we have lost two successive league fixtures.

Despite the two reverses, we still hold on to third spot in the league but the gap between ourselves and sixth place is reduced to three points.

The Okes arrived with good support and their players certainly thrived on that support as game progressed.

The opening five minutes looked promising for us as a driving maul went 20 metres but we were held up over the line.

A scrum then took us forward but unfortunately we infringed and the visitors cleared.

With 10 minutes gone, an Okehampton attack broke down just inside our half and it was Ollie Avery-Wright who reacted quickly to gather the loose ball and outpaced the defence to score, adding the extras himself.

Play was evenly contested but it was Okey who bagged the next try when a rushed clearance kick was fielded on our 10 metre line and they ran back and set up a maul just short of our line, they recycled and scored under the posts, the conversion levelled the scores.

Within minutes, another opportunity came our way when a penalty was kicked to the corner.

Unfortunately, what appeared to be some confusion with the lineout call ended with the throw being delayed too long and we were penalised.

Five minutes later though and we were back in the lead when some good handling across the backs and a great pick-up by winger Josh Woodland as he dived over for a try in the corner, OAW landed an excellent conversion to leave us 14-7 ahead. On the stroke of half time, Okes landed a penalty to reduce the arrears to four points at the interval.

The second half rather unusually was started with a penalty against Okehampton as they had disappeared into the changing room for the half time break and incurred the wrath of the referee for the excessive time before they reappeared.

We did get ourselves into good scoring positions but again we were penalised and the visitors had an easy exit.

On 48 minutes we were awarded a penalty as Okes were caught offside and OAW landed a simple three points.

For the next 10 minutes we dominated possession and territory and some good handling moves all came to nothing when at times it looked easier to score than not!

We dominated territory for long periods in the second half but could not make any headway against a resolute Okehampton defence and the visitors grew in confidence.

On the hour mark, we felt that we had earned a scrum penalty when the Okes props were stood up as they were driven backwards although it was simply seen as a restart.

Okes then kicked a penalty to the corner and from the resulting lineout, their fullback ran a good line and without a hand laid on him scored at the posts, the conversion levelled the score.

Again, we attacked and got into good positions but were unable to make the final pass count, a kick pass out wide bounced badly for Bobby Jenkin and ended with a goal line drop out.

Once again, we took the game to Okehampton and whilst the handling looked good, the Okes defence was up to the challenge although we did make life easy for them with some basic errors and crucial times.

With 10 minutes remaining, we were turned over on the Okes 10 metre line and they broke clear, brushing off a couple of tackles for an unopposed run in for the winning try which was converted.

We battled away for the remaining few minutes and put pressure on the visitors line but again we were unable to penetrate a strong Okes defence and they managed to see the time out.

We dominated territory and possession, especially in the second half, but it was Okehampton who gave a lesson in being clinical, two chances and two tries, we had several chances in the second half but only a penalty to show for it.

On Saturday the Firsts travel to Winscombe whilst the Seconds host Okehampton also in the league. The Thirds have a Merit Table game against Exmouth Thirds and the Colts host Barnstaple.

Paul Harris