DEVONPORT Services head coach Ben Russell hailed his side’s defensive shift as they claimed a crucial 23-12 home victory over Barnstaple in the top-of-the-table clash at the Rectory on Saturday.
The win maintains Services’ lead at the summit of Regional One South West with nine games to go.
Barnstaple, who have played a game more, had started the day in second place, level on points with Services, but they have now dropped down to third, four points behind, with Chew Valley, the next team to visit the Rectory, up to second.
Devonport were not as clinical as they had been before Christmas, but they were always in front and thoroughly deserved their win. Crucially, they also denied Barnstaple a bonus point.
“The shift we put in was unreal,” said Russell.
“Did we attack like we have done in the past? No, but we were playing Barnstaple who are a much better outfit in defence, and the effort we put in was just fantastic, so I’m obviously happy.
“The goal was to win and not give then a bonus point – and we did that.
“Would it have been nice to have scored a bonus point ourselves? Yes, it would, but it was the win that mattered and stopping then getting a point.
“We did have opportunities to score more points, but we lost the ball in key areas and that took the pressure off. However, that was because Barnstaple are who they are – they have been at level four for the past few years.”
Services have never been pushing for promotion to the National Leagues before and the players seem to be enjoying the experience.
“We want to be in the mix and we are,” said Russell. “And we will fight to stay there. If we come up short, we come up short.
“We have another big one next week against Brixham, then Lydney away and Chew at home, so it’s a massive January for us. We just have to keep on working hard and keep on going.”
Services started strongly and dominated the opening 20 minutes, with Barnstaple having to reshuffle early on after losing fly-half Tyler Gordon-Oke which meant former Plymouth Albion centre Jake Murphy had to switch to number 10.
Services had two really good chances to score a try in the opening six minutes and were eventually held up over the line before they got a penalty, which Richard West kicked to put them 3-0 up.
They then went 10-0 up in the 13th minute when lock Mike Rickard scored a converted try from a line-out move after Services had got a penalty at a scrum.
The hosts were only denied possibly another score four minutes later when the referee ruled a pass from Rickard to James Hocking was forward.
With Services in command, Barnstaple did make changes and brought on George Snell and Martinas Dromantas and they did improve their scrum and gave them a bit of momentum.
The visitors, who had not really been out of their half in the opening 20 minutes, really pressed in the 23rd minute after a penalty gave them a line-out close to the line. Services defended hard but had Liam Jarvis sin-binned for stopping them illegally, according to the referee.
And eventually Barnstaple’s pressure told with number eight Brandon Moore forcing his way over from close range and Murphy added the conversion.
Service then produced a great last-gasp tackle to deny Barnstaple another try in the right corner before counter-attacking from the resultant line-out.
The hosts did finish the half strongly. Andy Pond charged down a box-kick by Ben Beattie and looked like he might win the ball with the try-line just 20 metres away. However, he was illegally pulled back and the referee awarded a penalty which West booted over to make it 13-7.
In first half injury-time, Barnstaple had experienced lock Ben Hilton yellow carded for bringing down Rickard at a five-metre line-out. Services went for another line-out from the penalty but were unable to drive over.
Defences were definitely on top at the start of the second period and it took until the 15th minute for any real chance to happen. It came from Services and led to Barnstaple forward Nat Bayet picking up a yellow card.
From the penalty, Services went for the corner and they had a couple of drives illegally stopped before the visitors were given another warning and at the next line-out Devonport did drive over with hooker Aiden Taylor getting the ball down. West continued his impressive kicking form by adding the conversion from out wide to make it 20-7.
The hosts had the momentum again and more pressure seven minutes later led to a penalty on the left, which West calmly put over to make it 23-7 and give Services a three-score lead.
With time running out Barnstaple threw caution to the wind. They really pressed Services’ line-out but the home side’s defence was brilliant.
In the 69th minute Services did have West yellow carded but they still defended amazingly.
However, Barnstaple finally got a breakthrough when Murphy put in grubber kick to the corner where Services did not have anyone covering and Will Topps managed to win the race to ground the ball.
The visitors having failed to force their way through the middle of Services finally started throwing it around in the dying minutes but Devonport still defended well and ended the game on the attack.
The hosts had a great chance for another try late on but lost a line-out 10-metres out and then decided not to take a risk when they got another penalty with the last play of the game.
Ivybridge boosted their hopes of staying in the league with a 37-23 home victory over Okehampton at Cross-in-Hand.
It was their biggest win of the season – their other three had all been by just one score – and has moved them up to ninth, above Okehampton.
The Bridgers have won their last three home matches and that form at Cross-in-Hand could just save them from the drop.
They now have a vital away game at St Austell, who are just one place above them, this coming Saturday before facing tough fixtures against Barnstaple, Brixham, Chew Valley, Services and Exmouth.
Saturday’s contest with Okehampton was nip-and-tuck until the closing stages and a late try by Ben Watts sealed the win for Ivybridge and crucially denied their Dartmoor rivals a bonus point.
Okehampton had taken the lead with an early Luke Simmons penalty, before he missed with another attempt two minutes later.
Ivybridge, though, responded and some good play resulted in returning winger Tom Scoles scoring in the corner.
And it got better for the hosts when fit-again hooker Jake Winters scored from a catch-and-drive move to make it 10-3.
In a game that both sides were desperate to win, Okehampton came back and levelled with a try by Kieran Lee, which Simmons converted.
On 32 minutes, Ivybridge bagged a third touch down courtesy of number eight Adam Northcott from the back of a scrum.
Simmons then kicked a long-range penalty for Okehampton just before the interval to make the half-time score 15-13 to Ivybridge.
After the break, Matt Grieveson put over a penalty for the hosts to extend their lead to five points, but Okehampton quickly levelled the thrilling contest with a try by Matt Dennis.
Ivybridge secured the bonus point in the 54th minute when Sam Brown managed to cross the whitewash after a good couple of phases and then Scoles scored a second to put his side in command at 30-18 with 11 minutes to go.
However, in the closing stages Ivybridge had Charlie Briant yellow carded and Okehampton made it a one-score game again with a try in the corner by Hugo Denman.
There were probably a few nervous Ivybridge supporters at that point but the hosts did really well at the restart and forced Okehampton into touch and then attacked themselves with Watts sealing the win.
COUNTIES ONE WESTERN WEST
WESTERN West leaders Plymstock Albion Oaks recorded their biggest league victory as they overcame Bude 109-7 at Horsham Fields on Saturday.
Corey Jamieson led the way by scoring five tries for Oaks, who have now moved 10 points clear at the top of the table with Tiverton, who started the day in second heavily losing 48-17 at Paignton.
There was also a hat-trick for Alex Chapman and two tries apiece for young winger Chris Dunstan and scrum-half Will Scantlebury, while Lewis Paterson, Duncan Bibby, Matt Jackson, Alex Thomas and Chey Bryce also crossed the whitewash and Paterson kicked 12 conversions.
Oaks may have lost by more than 100 points before, but it was the first time they had topped a century of points in a league game and it was their biggest win since beating Exeter Saracens 80-0 eight years ago.
“It was a historic day for the club as I don’t think any Plymstock Albion Oaks senior side has ever reached 100 points, so that was good,” said player-coach Paterson.
“We were pretty relentless and never took our foot off the gas.
“Fair play to Bude – we’ve been there against Cullompton last year – but they scored their try mid-way through the second half so that shows a bit of character.
“But we were just really clinical. We wanted to come into the new year and put in a performance that might turn a few heads.
“I think there are only seven or eight games left of the season so it is quite crucial to have that kind of a cushion.”
He added: “We were missing some key players like Tom Richards, Pete Keanie, Alex Broughton, Ben Turua and Jamie Shone, but it opened the door for some of the talent we have coming through, like Chris Dunstan, the young winger. We put Al Thomas at eight and he had a phenomenal game.
Tavistock dropped down from fourth to sixth after they were beaten 28-22 away at St Ives, who moved above them.
However, Tavistock did pick up two bonus points for scoring four tries and finishing within a score of their opponents after a strong second half display.
The visitors had found themselves 20-0 down at the break in Cornwall with Matt Turton, Liam Moyle and Chris Warren scoring tries for St Ives.
Liam Watts pulled one back for Tavistock after the interval, but Saints went 25-5 up with another touch-down by Moyle.
Tavistock’s Dan Redstone then scored a stunning 60-metre solo try, where he beat four defenders, before Adam Harris kicked a penalty for the hosts.
But Tavistock, who had travelled without a number of key forwards, really finished the game strongly and secured two points with tries by Jack Easton and Charlie Charlton.
“We were abysmal in the first half,” admitted Tavistock head coach Joel Caddy.
“We just made far too many mistakes again – unforced errors.
“But second half we picked ourselves up.
“With 25 minutes to go we really woke up and played some good rugby.
“In the end we got two points – we are making a habit of doing that away from home – and if the game had gone on another five minutes, then we might have pulled it off.
“If we had of sneaked it you might argue we would not have deserved it, but the positive was that we finished so strongly.
“The other positive was our scrum, which was exceptional.”
COUNTIES TWO DEVON
DYLAN Daley scored a converted try with the last play of the game as leaders Devonport Services II came from behind to snatch a narrow 14-12 victory over Plymouth Argaum at Bickleigh Down on Saturday.
With 90 seconds of the game to go, Argaum were 12-0 up and looking like they were going to claim a stunning win in their bid to pull clear of the relegation zone.
But high-flying Services II never game up and pulled off an amazing comeback.
With time virtually up, flanker Josh Cumberland went over for a try in the corner. To save time, Lewie Riley just drop-kicked the conversion from the touchline and amazingly it went over.
And then from the restart, which was the last play, Toby Lean made a break before off-loading to Daley, who ran in from nearly the halfway line to score under the posts for a simple conversion to win the game.
“It was absolutely gutting,” admitted Argaum head coach Dean Avery, who started the match after Darren Ewers dropped out but then suffered a suspected fractured hand.
Argaum also lost fellow player-coach Eddie McGinley and Tom Holliday in the closing stages.
“The players were absolutely outstanding all game and they really stuck to the game-plan.
“We knew Services were going to be a threat, but we should have been more than two tries ahead as we had plenty of chances.
“In the last five minutes we were ruled to have been held up over the line, when Akie (Al Percival) did get it down. We also missed the touch and so a couple of things didn’t go our way late on.
“They scored out-wide with 20 seconds left on the clock and he drop-kicked it and we just had to either kick it out or get it long, but they managed to get the ball and they move it out wide and scored under the sticks in injury-time and kicked the conversion.
“It was looking like we were going to win 12-0, but it was just a minute-and-a-half of bad luck.
“We knew they were going to be dangerous and credit to them for sticking at it.”
He added: “We pushed them all around the field with driving mauls and won all the scrums, but we just didn’t capitalise enough on it and didn’t put enough points on the board. We should have been more than two tries clear.
“But I would have taken a point on the morning, so we achieved what we set out to do and there were so many positives, but it was absolutely gutting.”
Both Argaum’s tries came in the first half, with Owen Goucher getting their first, which Cheyenne Edwards converted, and Jamie Venner adding their second.
Ninth-placed OPMs have moved five points clear of Argaum with a game in hand after they beat Exmouth II 27-0 at King George V Playing Fields.
It was OPMs’ biggest win since their promotion and secured then the double over Exmouth II, having beaten them 30-20 away in September.
The Old Boys came out firing on Saturday and had scored three tries in the first 25 minutes.
Number eight Pete Marr got them underway with their opening touch-down on 12 minutes, which Matt Smale converted.
Four minutes later, prop Sonny Rowe went over for a second before James Mitchell added a third.
OPMs winger Kallan Malone was yellow carded on 30 minutes but his side were able to hold Exmouth out while he was off and take a 17-0 lead into the break.
Malone then scored in the first minute of the second half to make it 22-0 and in the 57th minute Matt Smale went over for a try.
The hosts did pick up another yellow card in the second period with Alberto Bromeo falling foul of the referee but again OPMs did not concede any points while a player down.
Ivybridge II’s game away at South Molton was postponed due to an unplayable pitch.
COUNTIES TWO CORNWALL
AFTER a month without a game, title-chasing Saltash brushed off the cobwebs with a 53-0 at bottom side Camborne School of Mines.
The Ashes, who had beaten their opponents 97-0 at home in September, got off to a slow start at Penryn and it was the hosts that looked the sharper in the early stages.
However, following a scrum close to the home line number eight Ryan Rayner went over to touch down for the visitors after 12 minutes and Ryan Cruickshanks added the extra points.
Play continued to be fairly even with little fluidity until Devon Bennett-Murray forced himself over for a try which was converted nine minutes late.
The School of Mines tried hard to make advances to the Saltash line but were repelled each time.
Two more tries before the interval from Rayner and Bennett-Murray, plus one conversion, gave the Ashes a lead of 26-0 and the bonus point.
The second half was only three minutes old when hooker Rob Walsh drove over for another visitors try and the lead was further extended two minutes later by Cruickshanks converting his own try to make it 38-0.
The students continued to press but rarely threatened the Saltash try line.
Without reaching their normal form more tries came for the Ashes from Rayner and Rob Walsh (2) to both claim hat-trick before the final whistle. Cruickshanks kicked four conversions.
Liskeard-Looe narrowly lost 15-11 at home to Veor.
COUNTIES THREE
TAMAR Saracens dedicated their impressive 35-17 away win against in-form Torquay Athletic II to veteran forward Rich Bush who suffered a broken leg in the match at the Recreation Ground.
The Counties Three Devon South & West game had to be stopped for more than 20 minutes while Bush received treatment from medical personnel. He wanted to the game to continue, but with ambulances in short supply, it was decided to take him to hospital in a 4×4 that drove on to the pitch to pick him up.
“It looks like he broke his tib and fib,” said Saracens’ director of rugby Pete Lethbridge.
“And that might just be his last game as he is 44.
“It was such a sour note from a really good game of rugby and a great performance from us.
“We did go a bit flat after he was taken to hospital.
“But overall I would say it was our best performance of the season in terms of running rugby.
“We just played with no pressure and enjoyed it. It was much better than before Christmas.”
Sarries led 21-3 at the break. Josh Perkin opened the scoring with a tremendous try, which Lew Harris converted.
Then Josh Health then bagged one before Perkin got a second to make it 21-0.
Torquay kicked a penalty to reduce the deficit slightly before half-time.
After Bush was taken to hospital in the second half, Torquay cut the gap with a try by replacement Joel Armitage.
But Sarries finally got going again and Heath added a second to make it 28-10 before Nathan Tissot went over for Torquay.
Second-placed Sarries did have the last word with Harris scoring from a quick-tap penalty and he also added the conversion.
Dartmouth remain unbeaten at the top after they overcame Tavistock II 64-22 at Sandy Park.
Tavistock II, though, did manage three tries, having not scored one in their three games prior to Christmas. Chris Watts, James Lovering and Will White scored for the hosts, with Freddie Fuller kicking the rest of their points.
Piers Benjamin (2), Billy Colthart II, Josh Squires, John Dingle, Lewis Sharam, Sam Churchill and Brogan Taylor scored tries for Dartmouth.
Plympton Victoria did not get 2024 off to the start they would have wanted, losing 48-0 at home to fourth-placed Paignton II, who have only lost one of their last seven games and that was to Dartmouth.
Meanwhile, Old Techs were left frustrated as Plymstock Albion Oaks II pulled out of visiting them on Saturday.
Oaks told Techs they were unable to raise a side and so handed their city rivals the home walkover.
It means Techs, having been five points behind Oaks II, are now five points ahead of them.
In Counties Three Cornwall, Saltash II were beaten 52-20 at home by St Agnes.
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