With last week’s last-minute heartbreak down in Cornwall still fresh in the minds of the Withy players, it was key that the same mistakes weren’t to be made again.
Withies took the opportunity well as they converted early pressure on the visitors into points via the boot of Tom Cooke in a fourth minute penalty on the 10m line.
Withy dominance in attack would continue for large parts of the opening quarter of the game, but the Tavistock defence was equally as impressive, forcing a few errors, both forced and unforced, from our boys.
On 25 minutes, the Withies struck with a double-header of tries. The first coming when a strong counter ruck on the Tavistock 5m line was rewarded with a penalty taken quickly by Liam Cullen. Cullen linked up with Mike Richards to provide the additional strength to power the ball over the line for the opening try, duly converted by Tom Cooke.
The second try came almost immediately from the restart as a stunning break from Flanker Joe Blyth allowed for a perfectly timed pass out to the waiting Sam Warren to score in the corner; another pinpoint accurate touchline kick from Cooke put the Withies 17 points up just before the half hour mark.
As the second half got underway, a refreshed Tavistock side put on some pressure of their own, forcing the Withies to play a more defensive game. Although possession was shared between the sides, it was the Moorlanders that enjoyed the lion’s share of it.
It was the visitors who got the only points in the second half though, when a sustained period of pressure in the Withycombe 22’ eventually forced open a gap in the strong defensive line to allow Tavi prop Richard Cann to storm in at the corner for an unconverted try.
Keen not to see a repeat of last week, the boys in green and black got back on top of the game, pushing forward and testing the Tavistock defence once again. However, this defence remained tight, preventing any more scoring opportunities for the Withies.
Final score: Withycombe 17 Tavistock 5.
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