Withycombe 12 - North Tawton 12

A WARM sunny afternoon and trip to the seaside saw North Tawton take on another mid table team in the shape of Withycombe.

Withycombe are always difficult to beat at home, as this match proved, ending in a 12-all draw.

Sometimes a drawn game can be a long old grind but this was anything but, both teams giving it everything in both attack and defence.

A missed pass or an interception resulted in losing metres with both sides playing a counter attacking game.

It has to be said that the home team got the better of what area the game was played in for the first 30 minutes or so but the Tawton defence held strong and with the odd visit into the Withycombe red zones kept the home team’s defence honest.

It was on or around the half-hour mark that, from an interception, that the home No 9 collected the ball and ran 30 metres to score the first point of the match.  With a missed kick it was 5-0 to Withycombe.

It was getting a bit tetchy, a few niggles between players as Tawton tried to step up the pace.

Withycombe were content to slow the game down, with one or two injuries occurring giving both sides water breaks, sometimes you felt, just when the Tawts didn’t want a rest.

A second try for Withycombe, this time with the conversion added, took them to 12-0 and the travelling faithful beginning to fear that the game was slipping away from them.

A quick tap-and-go from inside their own 22 resulted in a touch down under the Withy post, some celebrating a try, others realising that the ref had called play back for taking the wrong mark.

North Tawton felt like they weren’t getting any help from anybody today.

The Tawts stepped it up again, the scrum half taking a few quick tap and goes, driving the forwards into the fray, putting pressure on the home team to see if they will crack.

They did some fine work at the breakdown and a solid drive and Si Quick went over for the first of his two tries, kick added 12-7 game on now then.

North Tawton are keen to get on with it, a few sniping runs by the Tawts 9, some good running off the ball and we are back into the Withycombe red zone a long break for cramp only served to give the Tawts time to work out a play and over goes that man Si Quick.

It’s 12 -12, the kick to come, alas its not the full fairy tale it was a difficult kick that just refused to go between the uprights.

It was the last kick of the game, we finished 12 each.

You have to say Withycombe must have felt like it was a loss but as for North Tawton they just got better as the game went on any more time and they would have surely been favourites to get a win.  They showed real character.

Chris Phare