Hayle Heartbreak for Withies

Early Withy strength meant that the opening ten minutes was played in the home side’s half and when a Withy driving maul was disrupted illegally by Hayle’s scrum half, the referee ran under the posts to award Withy the penalty try and send the infringing player to the bin.

Withy momentum was starting to build, but a couple of penalties to the home side saw them back in their half and in a position to put themselves on the scoreboard with a penalty to put the score at 3-7.

After their penalty, the home side began to grow in confidence and although the conditions were making it difficult for everyone, the Lions were back on the scoreboard once again when Withy No.8, Vinnie Neath-Rogers saw yellow and the extra man advantage created a gap in defence, leading to Hayle earning themselves a converted try to take a three-point lead into half-time.

As the second half got underway, the conditions began to improve, although with damp ground still caused issues for the sides.

Despite an earlier slip, Paddy Haddad made good use of some space and powered towards the line, finishing off with a swan dive over the line to score in the corner. Tom Cooke’s conversion attempt unluckily hit the posts, but Withy were back ahead, 10-12 with an hour gone.

In what became a disjointed final quarter with many stoppages in play, the Withies tried to play out the game within their half for large parts. Their defensive play was working well though and they managed to keep away any breakaway attempts from the lions.

Heartbreak came as the clock turned red. Hayle were awarded a penalty, which sailed through the posts. The final whistle blew, bringing the game to an end with the score 13-12 to the home side.

Lots can be taken from the game and, although Withy will only had the losing bonus point as opposed to the full four points, they can use some of the positives of the game into next week when they welcome Tavistock to Raleigh Park (2:30pm).

Withies battling in the rain (Image: Adam Curtis)