Withycombe battled bravely before going down to a 27-20 at Torquay Athletic. 

Withy started the game well from the kick off, making some decent ground from their attacking phases. Despite this, it was Torquay that thought they’d opened the scoring from a run down the left wing, only to drop the ball when going over the line! 

This ‘close shave’ gave Withy an additional kick and with a great 50:22 kick, Withy were camped out in the Torquay 22’. Unfortunately, even with all the pressure, our boys were unable to come away with any points. 

Torquay then scored two quick tries but Withy battled back, and with the scrum ball clearing out to Danny Sansom, a well-timed pass out to Vinnie Neath-Rogers ensured the points with a try near the posts. Harry Symons’ conversion was good to close the gap down to 12-7. 

Shortly after, Withies were on the front foot once again and began to pile on the pressure back in the 22’, unfortunately to no avail as the home defence stood strong to deny a try. 

Withy still managed to get reward from their efforts before half time as with Tic’s Second Row Jon Woodhead’s yellow card leaving a large gap in the defensive plan, allowing for the Withy maul to walk over the line and score courtesy of Chris Gibbons to level the scores. 

Torquay scored early in the second half but the lead didn’t last long as Withy equalised little with another driving maul, Mike Richards emerging with the ball to bring the game back level at 17-17. 

Withycombe pressure picked up again, this time rewarded with a penalty from roughly 10m inside the Torquay half. A long-range kick from Symons sailed through the posts to put Withy ahead at 17-20. 

With the close game meaning the result could go either way, Torquay struck again down that dangerous left wing with more flat passing to once again break free and swan dive to score. 

The missed opportunities in the first half may well have proved costly but Withy still came away with a losing bonus point, which is key in such a tight league. 

Time to regroup and prepare for next weekend, when Devonport Services II visit Raleigh Park. Kick off 2:30pm.