GALLERY: High-scoring opening day County Championship wins for Devon and Cornwall

DEVON and Cornwall both enjoyed high-scoring wins in their opening County Championship matches on Saturday.

In Division One of the Bill Beaumont Cup, Cornwall beat Surrey 55-0 at Esher, while in Division Three, Devon overcame Dorset & Wiltshire 68-43 at Ivybridge.

The Devon team included 10 players from Devonport Services – Rikki Benham, Aiden Taylor, Andy Pond, Mike Rickard, Liam Jarvis, James Hocking, Matt Gregory, Richard West, Shaun Crawford and Mark Friend – along with Plymstock Oaks’ Corey Jamieson, Ivybridge’s Henry Trudgill and Tavistock’s George Hillson.

Rickard, Pond and Hillson all managed to bag tries as Devon came back from 10 points down twice in the first half before taking control of the match.

They got off to a great start with Brixham’s former Plymouth Albion winger Matt Crosscombe scoring after just 90 seconds and his club colleague Joel Ashworth added the conversion.

But Dorset & Wilts responded with two tries in the space of two minutes courtesy of lock Brett Pointing and winger Tom Stewart, who caught a crossfield kick on the halfway line and ran in unopposed to put his side 14-7 up.

Visiting fly-half Sam Baker, who had converted both tries, then added a penalty to increase his side’s lead, but Devon hit back with a converted touch-down from Brixham prop Nathan Reeves from a catch-and-drive move.

However, Jamieson was then yellow carded as Dorset & Wilts attacked and scrum-half Rhys Floyd added a third converted try for the visitors.

Devon, though, finished the half strongly and scores by Pond, Ashworth and Rickard within the space of eight minutes, which were all converted by Ashworth, put the home team 35-24 ahead at the break.

The Green and Whites, who brought on Tavistock scrum-half Hillson, started the second period just like they ended the first, with three quick tries.

Former Ivybridge prop Reeves scored two of them to claim his hat-trick before Crosscombe went over for his second.

Dorset & Wilts pulled one back through replacement back Reece Makin, but Hillson then scored a great try from a scrum after number eight Gregory had fed him and then Ashworth went over for his second to make it 68-31.

Crosscombe was yellow carded a few minutes from time and the visitors added two late tries courtesy of Steward and James Kennedy.

At Esher, Cornwall ran in eight tries in their 55-0 win over Surrey.

Ben Priddey led the way with a second-half hat-trick, while there were also touch-downs for Jack Statton, Duncan Tout, Matt Shepherd, Declan Prowse and Jon Drew. Fly-half Fraser Honey kicked the rest of their points against Surrey.

Next Saturday, Cornwall will visit Kent, while Devon will make the trip to Bedfordshire.

 

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