NORTH TAWTON 29 - EXETER ENGINEERS 24

NORTH Tawton Rugby Club opened their home fixtures with a humdinger of a contest against the Exeter Engineers, a university side all as fit as rating snakes and keen to run the legs off any opposition being I guess 10 years younger than the North Tawton side who would have to rely on power and know how to outfox the Engineers.

The game started with the away team as expected running quick ball with some good-looking passes, a trait that continued all afternoon.

They opened the scoring with a converted try, 0-7.

We didn't have to wait long for the Tawton side to show there is another way to score tries, sheer power, and they rumbled over the Engineers' try line with Luke Jenkins placing the ball.

The conversion was by Ryan Goss and we were level, 7-7.

With both sides showing what they can do, the Engineers build attack after attack, running at the Tawton forwards with some purpose, but the defence held out with a mixture of skill or good luck or with the away team being forced into an error.

As good as the Tawts defence was, the Engineers were the next to score.

With a good kick added they took a 7-14 lead.

The you score, we score, trend carried on with another equalising try, this time Pete Gillard going over with the kick by Ryan Goss.

We went into half-time all square at 14 a piece with all to play for.

It has to be said that the North Tawton injury count was starting to mount, the worse one being an ankle injury to Pete Gillard who will be a big miss with his big powerful runs breaking the game lines more often than not.

We started the next 40 minutes with what proved to be an important penalty, taken by Ryan Goss, which gave the lead back to the home side, 17-14.

It was a lead they never lost that, but there was still some excitement to come.

Another try by Luke Jenkins, with a good kick, gave the North Tawton side a 10-point lead, 24-14, but they went down to 14 men with a yellow card, a strange one as the referee had only just given an Engineer a warning for what seemed to most a worse offence.

Still, as we know, the ref is always right.

The 10 points means that, in theory, the touchline faithful could relax, but no, that's not the North Tawton way.

Giving the ball and territory away, the home side gave the Engineers a lifeline which they gratefully took in the shape of a try, missed kick, 24-19.

It looked like the away team were on a comeback, upping the pressure on the Tawts to find some composure and see the game out.

Trying to play out of their own half the Engineers tried what could be said, one pass too many, and a great intercept by Ben Sharp who flew over the Engineers line to reinstate the 10 point lead, 29-19.

Surely the game won now, not quite, back came the Engineers, running in their fourth try of the match, 29-24.

The home supporters didn't know whether to watch the game or the clock, it was desperate times, North Tawton smothering any chance of the Engineers getting any clean ball and getting a late attack going thankfully for the men in gold.

The refs whistle brought the game to an end and North Tawton could record their first victory of the season.

It was a good result for North Tawton, one that has been coming for a while.

If anyone thought that dropping down a league was going to make it easier think again, there looks to be some good teams in this league but play like today and Tawton can be one of them.

Chris Phare