FRED SMALE scored a hat-trick of tries as OPMs overcame city rivals Plymouth Argaum 34-21 at a sunny Bickleigh Down on Saturday in Counties Two Devon.
Both sides were missing a host of players for the rearranged league clash.
Argaum did have more territory and possession, but they were unable to make it tell either through errors, making the wrong decisions or due to good defence by OPMs, who did hold them over the line twice in the first half and also stopped them scoring a fourth try right at the death.
The visitors, on the other hand, with Fred and Matt Smale influential, did take their chances and scored points on nearly every visit into the 22.
“I think both sides were short of a lot of players,” said Argaum head coach Dean Avery, who had to come on as an early replacement and play centre.
“I don’t think anyone wanted this fixture on the bank holiday weekend and I think the game was played in that way.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get anything out of the game. We had a good driving maul at the end where we should have scored and got a fourth try and a bonus point. I do feel a bit hard done by.
“There were a lot of errors out there, but when you put out a side like we did with a backline full of forwards we were never going to move the ball cleanly and they were always going to break tackles.
“They have a good 10 who played well and he put the ball in the right areas, which is what won them the game.”
Argaum did start well and camped on OPMs’ line, but the home side were deemed to have been held up over the whitewash and from that the visitors went up the other end and got a penalty, which Matt Smale kicked to put them in front.
And four minutes later they scored the game’s first try when Matt Smale put in a great cross-field kick for his older brother Fred to touch down. Matt added the conversion to make it 10-0.
But OPMs messed up the restart and Argaum instantly responded with a converted try by Eddie McGinley, playing at scrum-half, after Tom Holliday and Tom Worboys had done well.
Holliday was then yellow carded as Argaum were close to the try line again.
Nine minutes later home fly-half Adam McCrohan was held up over the line after Avery had done well with an off-load.
The home club were then denied by a forward pass before Fred Smale scored a converted try out of nothing to put his side 17-7 up at half-time.
Argaum, playing down the slope in the second period, did cut the gap to just three points straight after the break when Herbie Owen touched down from a maul and McGinley added the conversion.
But Matt Smale then kicked a penalty before Fred Smale put replacement Ellis Foale in to score under the posts and make it 27-14.
Argaum’s afternoon was summed up in the 74th minute when they looked certain to score with an overlap out on the right. However, the pass to the winger five metres from the try-line was a bit low and the ball was dropped and OPMs kicked it forward and Fred Smale collected it and ran in to score a length of the field effort.
Worboys did pull a try back for Argaum late on which gave them hope of two bonus points. They had a great chance at the death to score the all-important fourth try but they were unable to take it.
Argaum will definitely finish 10th despite the loss, while OPMs will finish either seventh or eighth.
Elsewhere, Saltash II produced a strong second half showing to beat Devonport Services III 41-32 at Moorlands Lane.
The Ashes second string had been 27-14 down at the break in an entertaining fixture.
Ciaran Poat 2, Leighton Stark 2, Manasa Tamanikairukuiovalau and Toby Moss scored tries for Devonport Services III.
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