Tavistock 38 : Brixham (2nds) 17

Tavistock Rugby Club’s season is building nicely as they opened up their campaign with an entertaining friendly with Brixham. Tavistock have worked hard during pre-season and have made developments both on and off the field. The squad has been boosted by several new recruits, the promotion of exciting ex-colts, and the recovery of injured players. Off the pitch, the club has finished the development of the new pitch which will be officially opened on September 20th.

Tavistock travelled to Brixham with a squad of 23 players, a much changed side from last year including 8 debutants. Tavistock began brightly forcing Brixham onto the back foot, trying to play a balanced game of forward power and expansive running rugby. TRFC would have been ahead early on but Brixham defence held firm aided by the occasional error due to rustiness. TRFC eventually broke the deadlock after 15 minutes. Joe Hair smashed through two tacklers, the ball was quickly recycled and quick hands from the backs put new boy Nick Cunningham in for a try in the corner. Josh Leeson knocked over the conversion from wide out. Brixham responded well working their way down the field but strong tackling from Dan Oner and aggressive rucking from Andrew Griffiths and Andrew Kaka repelled their attacks.

TRFC had more success in the second quarter scoring three unanswered tries. The first came from a set piece move with the back three of Simon Braithwaite, Brennan Telfer, and Will Glover combining nicely finishing with Glover collecting a kick over the top to score under the posts. Leeson converted. TRFC then scored a contender for try of the season. Duncan Law, back from a long injury, collected the kick off and broke past some would be tacklers before releasing George Rodgers who linked well with centre partner James McDowell. Quick hands saw the ball return to Law who sprinted in from 30 metres. TRFC’s forth try came through the through the forwards, with efficient pick and go drives from Joe Gosling and Gareth Buttock supported by the rest of the pack opened up a hole for Lloyd James to score from less than a metre out. Leeson converted.

TRFC lost their way after half time and Brixham hit back with 3 tries of their own. TRFC struggled to deal with a loose lineout and the Brixham pack set up a driving maul and crashed over their first points of the day. Now with their tails up, Brixham started to get more ball to their backs and a creative move opened up the TRFC defence. A last gasp tackle from Ben Murphy couldn’t prevent another score. Brixham’s final score came from a sloppy no-look pass from Duncan Law which went straight to the opposition’s fly half who finished off the gift from 5 metres.

In the last quarter, TRFC regrouped thanks to re-introduction of Robin Jones and Danny Luffman who both worked tirelessly. Jones was next on the score sheet. The forwards showed their power in the scrum steeling one against the head. Law broke from the base and showed a good turn of pace before putting Jones in for a deserved try. Leeson converted. TRFC sealed the win with a final try. The forwards disrupted a Brixham lineout and turned over the ball due to great work at the breakdown from Law, James and Oner. Allowing David Goodspeed to round off a committed performance by scoring in the corner. A special mention should go to Leeson who directed the performance from fly half and Doug Lloyd for his wonderful running lines.

TRFC’s next warm up game is on Saturday at home against higher league opposition Wadebridge.

Tavistock 24 : Bideford 3rd 20

Tavistock welcomed Bideford RFC for their first Merit Table game of the season and looking for a strong start, this was not the case as Bideford struck early with a penalty after poor discipline from the home side. The visitors were keen on setting the pace and it proved to fast for the home side who left gaps in defence to leak a Bideford score under the posts giving them a 10-0 lead. Tavy started to pick their game up after their slow start and putting some decent phases together found themselves deep in the visitors half. The first score for the home side came from skipper McDowall who charged through the defence just left of the posts leaving an easy kick for fly half Charlie Furnivall.

Tavy were dominating the set piece with terriffic work in the lineout by youngster Jo Gosling and the forwards working as a tight unit at scrum time. The home side were picking holes in the opponents defence and were back in the visitors 22, infringments by Bideford led to a penalty to Tavistock which was taken quickly by Furnivall who showed quick thinking and went over for his sides second try. Bideford came back at Tavy with some powerful runs from their inside backs but were unable to get over the try line as tavy held firm with great defence work from Rory Gilmore and Jake Chinn. Tavy went into the break 12-10 up.

The second half started much the same as the first ended with Bideford pounding the home sides defencive line and putting them on the back foot, good work around the fringes and powerful mauling led to Bideford taking the lead. Tavistock made a couple of changes early in the second half bringing on utility back Freddie Thompson and front rower Dave Welsh, these fresh legs gave Tavy an extra boost and immediatley they were camped on the oppositions try line. Great work by Tavys forwards led to their third try with McDowall showing conciderable strength to shrug off defenders and go over for his second try of the game, this put them 19-15 in front and still plenty of time on the clock. Both sides were starting to show that the early pace had taken a lot out of them and gaps were starting to appear in defence, it was Bideford who were taking advantage of this and making some telling breaks only to be denied by good cover defence by the home side. Some poor discipline by Tavy put them a man down when full back Braithwaite was sin binned for an alleged trip on a Bideford player, this earned him his second yellow in successive weeks. Bideford continued to throw everything at the Tavy defence through their forwards and eventually got over the line to give them a 1 point lead going in to the last 10 minutes of the game.

Tavistock put their guests under pressure from the kick and took it to their opponents, some telling runs by Braithwaite back on after his sin binning and right wing Ben Hadfield put them in their opponents half. The home sides forwards directed by Pascoe were working the fringes well and making a lot of ground, this forcing the defence to drag players in and leave gaps in the backline. Tavy spun it out wide to front rower Paddy Warlow loitering on the wing to power through two defenders to score and put his side in the lead. Bideford came back strong and put Tavy under pressure straight away forcing them on to the back foot, with only a minute or two remaining Tavy had to defend for their lives. The defence held strong and a big tackle from a Tavy forward forcing a Bideford player to knock on gave the referee no option but to blow for full time and give Tavy the win.

Next week Tavistock 2nd XV are home to OPMs 3pm KO

Tavistock 24 : Bideford 3rd 20

Tavistock kicked off playing down the slope and from the first attack, the visitors were penalised and Josh Leeson kicked the penalty. Tavistock continued to apply all the early pressure and scored three tries in the next 20 minutes. The first two were both scored by scrumhalf John Bellamy who was on hand to finish off some good phases from the forwards. Winger Ben Hadfield was next on the scoresheet when he collected a stray kick ahead from an OPMs centre and ran around the cover defence, to claim his first try for the club. Josh Leeson added one conversion.

The remainder of the half saw Tavistock continue to have almost non-stop possession, but a mixture of stubborn defence from OPMs and poor finishing from the home side meant there was no further scoring before the interval. Leading 20 – 0, Tavistock made a number of substitutions for the second half and despite now playing up the slope, continued to dictate play for long periods. The forwards were dominating both in the scrums and loose play and were winning good ball in the lineout, through Gareth Puttock. Further tries were scored at regular intervals during the half. First, flanker Paul Dunstan finished off a good drive from the forwards. Next, a good break by Alex Moy, continued by Ben Hadfield, saw centre Freddie Thompson score. OPMs then got onto the scoresheet with a penalty, but skipper James McDowell then burst his way through the visitors’ defence for the next Tavistock try, followed by a fine handling move that saw lock Joe Gosling get the touchdown. The final score went to substitute centre Miles Ross who threaded his way through the opposing defence for a splendid individual try, to round off another good solid all round display by the seconds.

Next week, the seconds are away to Plymstock Albion Oaks.

Plymstock Oaks 0 : Tavistock 45

Tavistock forwards soon settled and started to exert control over the heavier home pack. The first score came after 12 minutes, when number 8 Jude Rotton finished off a good drive by the pack, with a fine try. The next 20 minutes saw Plymstock being pushed more and more onto the back foot by the continuous attacks from the visitors. Eventually the pressure told and flyhalf Charlie Furnival made a good break, which was taken on by winger Ben Neale and John Bellamy was on hand to receive the scoring pass. Tavistock then lost the outstanding Jude Rotton to injury. Tavistock then won a good scrum in the Plymstock twentytwo and Charlie Furnival dummied his way through the home defence to score the third try. Centre Nick Lane added the conversion and the half ended with Tavistock leading 17 – 0.

Plymstock rallied briefly at the start of the second half, but they never really looked like scoring against the solid defence of the visitors. Tavistock then scored three further tries in a 5 minute period midway through the half. First John Bellamy took a quick tap penalty and darted over the line. Next, a good run by replacement wing, Jack Hodges, found Charlie Furnival in support to finish off the move. Furnival then made another fine individual break and scored his third try. The final score of the match came shortly before the end, when the Tavistock pack completed a good afternoon’s work with a pushover try from a five metre scrum. Flanker Rory Gilmore claiming the touchdown. Nick Lane converted all four second half tries.

The Tavistock front row of Joe Hair; Marc Kerswill and Jason Ward were outstanding in the set pieces with lock Scott Pluckrose dominant in the lineout.

Next week, Tavistock 2nds are at home to Teignmouth 2nds in a Merit League match, kick off 3pm.

Tavistock 26 : Teignmouth 3

Missing report : sorry

Tavistock 48 : Kingsbridge 17

Tavistock returned to winning ways, with a comprehensive victory over an experienced Kingsbridge side.

The home team took control from the kick-off and spent most of the game in their opponents half. Although up against a heavier pack, the Tavistock forwards provided plenty of good possession for their speedy three quarters to find the gaps in the Kingsbridge defence. The home side scored four tries in each half, with flyhalf Ed Kirk adding three conversions and Thursby one.

Kingsbridge managed to keep their line intact for the first 20 minutes, but then a good break by number8, Mark Friend put James Kaminski in for the first of his four tries. Kingsbridge continued to defend dourly, but eventually, they gave way to the continuous pressure and Tavistock scored three more tries in the last 5 minutes of the half. First, the home pack won a scrum against the head, another fine pick-up and run from Mark Friend saw him offload to scrum half Tom Whaley to score. Kaminski then ran in an excellent individual try and wing Tom Thursby then made an interception midway in his own half and raced 70 metres to the line. The teams changed ends with Tavistock leading 24 – 0.

The second half started where the first had ended. Mark Friend making another good break from the back of the scrum and bursting through the defence in a 50 metre run to the line. This was shortly followed by a good handling move involving Thursby and Whaley and ended with Kaminski bagging his hat-trick. Tavistock then made several substitutions. This caused them to lose their momentum for ten minutes or so and Kingsbridge took advantage of the lack of concentration, to notch two tries of their own, one of which was converted. Tavistock then regained the initiative and Kaminski used his pace to score another fine individual try. With both sides tiring, each team scored an unconverted try in the final few minutes, skipper James McDowall doing the scoring for the home side, to leave the final score 48 – 17.

Another good all round team performance. Among the forwards, Mark Friend was outstanding. Joe Hair; Jake Chinn and Patrick Hobbs worked tirelessly. James Kaminski took his scoring opportunities well; wing Nick Lane and full back Freddy Thompson were prominent throughout.

Tavistock 7 : Plymouth University 2ndXV 22

The two sides served up an absorbing and hard fought Plymouth Lockie Cuptie at Sandy Park.

Tavistock were forced to make several changes following calls from the 1st team, but the replacement players drafted in, gave a good account of themselves.

The home side went on the offensive from the kickoff and spent most of the game in their opponents’ half of the field. Flyhalf John Bellamy kept the students pegged back with some fine line kicking, but an absence of any specialist line-out jumpers, meant that Tavistock barely won any clean line-out ball throughout the match. Although well held in the set scrum, the home forwards dominated the loose play and several times went close to forcing their way over the try line. However, the visitors defence was well organised and repelled everything that Tavistock threw at them. After absorbing considerable pressure from the home side, after 25 minutes, the students made a rare visit to the Tavistock half and from a scrum close to the home line, the ball went loose and the students’ scrumhalf pounced for the opening try. Play continued much as before until another break by the visitors just before the interval, resulted in a second try by the right winger. Halftime arrived with the visitors leading 10 – 0.

The second half opened with the students applying some pressure and they scored a third try after a good running move from their backs. Tavistock then went back on the offensive and after several good drives from the pack, were rewarded with a penalty try, when the referee ruled that the visitors had illegally halted a try scoring move. Bellamy added the conversion. The students then scored their fourth try after another quick handling move and with the conversion, now led 22 – 7. Tavistock took control again and during the last quarter of the game, had several promising attacks by both forwards and backs, but were not able to get through the students’ solid defence. There was no further scoring and the visitors moved through to the next round of the cup. For Tavistock, skipper Will Tomkins and fellow forwards Paul Dunstan; Tony Worle and Joe Elliott all put in strong performances. Among the backs, Lawrence Ellis and Tom Thursby were prominent.

Next week, the 2nds return to Merit league action with a home game against Cullompton 3rds, kickoff 2.30pm.

Tavistock 34 : Cullompton 3rdXV 7

Tavistock extended their unbeaten home Merit League record, with an impressive victory over a stubborn Cullompton side.

The visitors fielded a heavy; experienced pack but were unable to cope with the pace of the home team.

From the kickoff, the Cullompton forwards concentrated on mauling their way up the pitch, but were unable to break through a determined home defence.

After 15 minutes, the Tavistock forwards made a series of drives into the opposition half and a quick break saw flyhalf, Josh Leeson dart through a gap for the opening try, which he also converted. The visitors continued to press, but Tavistock were in no mood to give way. The home side looked dangerous every time they gained possession and a purple patch in the last 5 minutes of the half, saw first, a fine break by winger Joe Lane who gave the scoring pass to lock Scott Pluckrose, up in support. Skipper Will Tomkins claimed the restart kick and scorched 50 metres upfield; centre Nick Lane took the ball on and Joe Lane finished off the move with a try. Leeson then kicked a penalty, to leave Tavistock leading 20 – 0 at the break.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with the Cullompton forwards plugging away and the home side looking to run the ball at every opportunity. Tavistock scored two more tries through fullback Simon Braithwaite, after a good run from replacement scrum-half Craig Pascoe and by flanker Joe Elliott, rounding off a fine performance from him. Leeson converted both tries. A few minutes from the end of an entertaining game, Cullompton forwards finally managed to breach the home defence for a try in the corner, leaving the final score 34 – 5. For Tavistock, skipper Will Tomkins and number 8 Pete Davis were outstanding. Fellow forwards John Wakem; Dan Clarke; Steve Long and Tom Dawe all worked hard to contain the visitors’ pack. The threequarters and replacements all played their part, in another good team performance.

Next Saturday, the 2nds are home again to Totnes, in the Merit League, kick-off 2.30pm.

Tavistock 81 : Totnes 0

Another strong performance from Tavistock saw them record a 13 try victory over a plucky, but outplayed Totnes side.

Playing up the slope, Tavistock took the game to the visitors, but Totnes held firm and it was 20 minutes before the home side got on the scoreboard. Hooker Jake Chinn made a good break and supplied the scoring pass to lock Patrick Hobbs up in support. Soon after, flanker Ben Hadfield won good lineout ball and charged 25 metres through the Totnes defence for the second try. >From the restart, the ball was reclaimed and after several phases from the forwards, number 8 Pete Davis galloped through the hesitant visitors’ defence for the third try. Tavistock were now playing expansive running rugby with total confidence. The forwards were supplying an abundance of good possession and flyhalf John Bellamy kept his backs moving. For Totnes, it became a case of damage limitation. Before halftime, there were four more tries, wing Ben Neale; fullback Freddie Thompson and scrumhalf Mark Wall scoring three of them. A champagne moment came when wing Brennan Drewitt scored his first ever try. A good turnover from the ever busy Pete Davis and a backs handling move, gave Brennan his chance to plunge over to score, with two defenders hanging off him. Four conversions from centre Nick Lane, sporting his new moustache, brought the score to 43 – 0 at halftime.

The second half carried on where the first had finished and despite losing some momentum from a number of substitutions, Tavistock scored a further six tries, through Ben Neale, his second; John Bellamy; lock Steve Long; centre Sam Smerdon and replacements Simon Braithwaite and Tom Charlesworth. Nick Lane booted four more conversions. Totnes forwards never gave up and were always competitive in the scrum and lineout, but they were quite unable to cope with the home side’s pace and movement about the pitch. Once again, it was a good team performance, rather than any outstanding individual displays and Tavistock continue to climb up the Merit League table.

Next week, a stern test, with an away game at Exmouth, kickoff 2.30pm.

Exmouth 8 : Tavistock 12

Tavistock travelled to Exmouth for a Merit League match, expecting a hard battle and that is exactly what they got.

The home side were looking to their big; heavy forwards to dominate proceedings, but the lighter; more mobile Tavistock side were in no mood to let their opponents get the upper hand.

The Tavistock pack had to work hard to contain the home pack in the scrums.The lineouts were also keenly contested. The narrow pitch did not give the Tavistock threequarters the room they needed to exploit their extra pace. The first half was fairly even, with both defences holding out, although Exmouth were penalised several times, for halting attacks illegally and Ewen Smith, taking over the kicking duties from the unavailable Nick Lane, kicked three penalties, to one in reply, to give Tavistock a 9 – 3 lead at half-time.

The second half opened with a fine attacking handling move from Tavistock, again Exmouth infringed and again, Ewen Smith kicked the resulting penalty, to extend the lead to 12 – 3. Tavistock then spent much of the rest of the half defending against a continuous barrage of forward drives from the home side. Exmouth did manage to get through the Tavistock defence after 60 minutes, for an unconverted try, but tremendous tackling and covering from the visitors prevented any further scoring, leaving Tavistock victors at the end a hard fought match, by 12 – 8.

For Tavistock, the front row of Joe Hair; skipper Will Tomkins and Dan Clarke put in a good shift and won a couple of crucial scrums against the head. Locks Patrick Hobbs and Scott Pluckrose worked hard in the loose and lineout. Back row men,Jake Chinn and Mark Friend made a number of good breaks and tackled anything that moved. The backs put together some good handling moves, with wings Ben Neale and Dave Goodspeed making some telling runs, without managing to get through the final defender. Fullback Freddie Thompson, who had a fine game, was sent to the sin bin, for some unknown reason, ten minutes from time, which added to the tension in the final stage of the game, but the whole Tavistock squad, continued to defend everything that Exmouth threw at them and hung on for a well earned victory.

Next week, the 2nds are home to Newton Abbott in another Merit League game, kick-off 2.30pm.

Tavistock 43 : Newton Abbot 11

On a wet afternoon at sandy park tavistock welcomed Newton Abbott for a merit table game. Tavistock played up the slope in the first half and were on the scoreboard in the first 5 minutes through pace man smerdon after some slick handling. The visitors replied a few minutes later with a penalty after tavistock players were caught offside at the ruck. Tavistock extended their lead with a try by Ben Neale which was set up by some strong running from the forwards and was converted by Kirk. Newton Abbott replied again with a penalty and just before half time closed the gap to 1 point after scoring through their scrum half, making the score 12-11 to the home side.

Tavistock started the second half strongly and were putting the opposition under a lot of pressure and it wasn’t long before they put points on the board, a pick up from the base of the scrum and an off load saw flanker Joe Elliott cross for Tavistocks third try. The home side scored two more tries in just a matter of minutes, Ben Neale showing blistering pace to go outside his man and touch down in the corner and Pat Hobbs on the end of an overlap to also go over in the corner and extend their lead to 20 points.

Tavistock went down to 14 men after no.8 Davis was given a 10 minute breather by the referee, this didn’t seem to effect them as they continued to stay on top and play all the rugby deep in their opponents half. Tavistock added another try when Ben Hadfield smashed his way through the Newton Abbott defence to stretch his sides lead even further. Tavistock finnished off a fine display of running rugby when Elliott went over for his second try of the game which Kirk converted. Tavistock travel to Bideford next week for another merit table game looking to continue their fine form.

Tavistock 36 : Honiton 5

Tavistock were playing their first Merit League game for 5 weeks, when they entertained Honiton. The visitors had inflicted a heavy defeat on Tavistock earlier in the season, so the home side were looking to return the compliment.

Tavistock kicked off playing down the slope. The first 15 minutes were spent with the home side probing, but not finding a way through the visitors’ defence. Then from a strong drive from the forwards, prop Dan Clark spotted a gap and burst through to put Tavistock’s first try on the board. The next 20 minutes saw the home side playing some fine rugby, with the forwards winning good ball and the backs using their pace to slice through the Honiton defence, to the extent that 4 more tries were scored in the period. Replacement hooker, Simon Parisio; wingers Tom Thursby and Ben Neale and fullback Simon Braithwaite, claiming the tries. With flyhalf Josh Sutton kicking 2 conversions, halftime arrived with Tavistock comfortably leading 29 – 0.

With Tavistock playing up the slope, the second half was a much more even affair. The Honiton forwards more than held their own in the scrums and lineouts and it was no surprise when the visitors were next on the scoresheet, with a pushover try from a 5 metre scrum. Tavistock made a number of substitutions during the half, which disrupted their pattern of play and it was not until 5 minutes from the end of the match, that the home side put together their best phase of play, with a flowing movement from the halfway line, passing through many hands, replacement flanker Jack Lindsey scored an excellent try. Sutton added the conversion, to bring the final score to 36 – 5.

Back row men, skipper Matt Cole and Pete Davis; props Dan Clark and Joe Hair and locks Tony Worle and Scott Pluckrose, all worked hard to contain the lively Honiton pack. Halfbacks, Niall Murphy and Josh Sutton combined well to keep the backs moving. Centres Ben Hadfield and Freddie Thompson made a number of strong runs.

Next week, the 2nds are away to Plymstock Albion Oaks. Kick-0ff 2.30pm

Torquay 17 : Tavistock 46

Some fine running rugby, saw Tavistock 2nds earn a good win away to Torquay 3rds.

On a surprisingly firm pitch, Tavistock carried too much pace for the home side, although Torquay’s very big forwards were a handful all afternoon.

The game set off at a furious pace and there were 5 tries scored in the opening 25 minutes. A swift break by centre Greg Fairchild provided the pass for wing Tom Thursby to open Tavistock’s account. Fellow centre Nick Lane made the next break to enable flanker Patrick Hobbs to notch the second try. The home forwards then rumbled over the line for their first score, closely followed by a second try from Thursby. Again the Torquay forwards responded with a second try from a driving maul. Both defences then held firm until just before halftime, when scrumhalf, Tom Rickard dashed through a gap on the blindside, to register Tavistock’s 4th try. Nick Lane added 2 conversions, to give the visitors an interval lead of 24 – 12.

The second half saw Tavistock run in 4 more tries, through wing Ben Hadfield; flanker Jake Chinn; prop Simon Parisio and replacement Richard Edlman. Lane added one more conversion and Torquay scored a consolation try towards the end of the game, to leave the final score 46 – 17 to Tavistock.

The Tavistock forwards battled hard all game to contain their far heavier opponents, with front row men Dan Clark; skipper Will Tomkins and Parisio all having big games. Lock Steve Long and number 8 Jude Rotton were also prominent.

Next week, the 2nds are at home to Ivybridge 2nds, kick off 2.30pm.

Tavistock 36 Exmouth 21

Tavistock completed the double over league leaders Exmouth, in a fine game at Sandy Park. The match was played at a furious pace by two totally committed sides.

With both teams looking to run the ball at every opportunity, the game swung from end to end. There were 5 tries in the opening 20 minutes. Tavistock were first on the board, when wing Ben Hadfield cut a line through the Exmouth defence to score by the posts. Exmouth replied with two interception tries in a two minute burst. Centre Nick Lane then finished off a good handling move for Tavistock’s second try and this was closely followed by a break from centre Greg Fairchild and lock Steve Long, up in support, crashed over the line. Both defences then managed to hold up the opposing attacks until just before the interval, when an astute pass from flyhalf Jon Bellamy saw Hadfield bursting his way through the Exmouth rearguard, to score his second try. Three conversions from Lane, left Tavistock leading 26 – 14 at halftime.

The second half saw Tavistock on the attack throughout, but some stout defending from the visitors, limited the scoring to just two more tries. The first saw a great run from fullback Sam Smerdon, taken on by Hadfield and flanker Jake Chinn got the touchdown. Skipper Will Tomkins, who led his side well, then outpaced the cover defence to finish off another fine handling move. The visitors had the final word, with a good try from a lineout catch and drive, to bring the final score to 36 – 21.

For Tavistock, Ben Hadfield had an outstanding game; prop Tim Child was always in the thick of things; Steve Long was dominant in the lineout and worked hard in the loose; number 8, Jude Rotton was always prominent. The whole team and replacements all played their part, in what was a very good performance.

Next week, the 2nds have a friendly, home to Salcombe. Kickoff 2.30pm.