Techs have cruised to big wins in all their league games so far, scoring more than 55 points in every fixture, but Marjon, who included Ivybridge star Adam Northcott in their side, did make them work really hard for their four-try win.
The students defended well and did not make it easy for Techs’ strong runners to make ground, although the impressive Ollie Davey did break through a couple of times to score tries.
Davey got Techs off the mark in the seventh minute when he scored from a line-out that Marjon opted not to challenge.
Techs had all the territory in the first half, but it took them until the 32nd minute to score a second try, which came courtesy of a great run down the right wing by veteran winger Kieran Hurrell. The move had been started by a good break by Davey and then the ball was quickly switched to the wing and Hurrell, who had come close to scoring minutes earlier, showed a couple of young students a clean pair of heels.
Sam Matts converted that effort and Techs got a third try two minutes before the break when Dan Pullen, who always looked a threat, produced a great run down the right.
That made it 17-0 at the break and it looked like it might be a tough second 40 minutes for the students.
But Marjon, having struggled to get out of their half in the first period, enjoyed most of the territory after the interval.
And in the 63rd minute the students got a reward for their efforts when Northcott, who played scrum-half on Saturday instead of in the back-row, burst down the left wing to score in the corner.
Northcott did come close again minutes later before going off.
The final word did go to Techs with Davey scoring their fourth try in injury-time with another strong run.
Techs were happy with the tough run-out ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with Brixham II next Saturday.
“Before the game we said it was going to be our biggest test so far and it was,” said Techs’ Shaun Bedford-Smith. “But we stood up to it.
“We had worked on our defence and tackling in training and I think our defence won us the game.
“We probably had the first half, but second half they had much more ball and our defence just kept them out.
“But their defence was good as well. I thought they were very good defensively and a good side.
“It was a really good win for us ahead of next week as it was a potential banana skin for us.
“It’s given us a real selection headache now as everyone is fighting for positions.”
In the Devon 2nd XV Cup, Plymstock Oaks were beaten 67-7 away at Cullompton II.
Youngster Aidan Webb scored Oaks’ only try in east Devon against a strong Cullompton side.
Oaks II captain Dan Larn said: “Since rearranging the fixture from a few weeks ago, we have been blessed with a lot of new and returning players.
“We’ve had at least eight players turn out for the seconds over the last couple of weeks, that haven’t been with the club for very long at all.
“This influx of new players has resulted in a very disjointed performance on the field, and we have been struggling to find our form.
“This week’s game against Cullumpton showed a lot of promise for us, but we simply couldn’t take advantage of our possession in the way they did.
“I would like to say a big thanks again for the few colts who continue to step in and do the hard work when needed; Cobey Bradford, Alfie Upton, try scorer Aidan Webb and our man of the match Charlie Kirkwood.”
In the Cornwall Clubs’ Cup, Saltash were handed a home walkover by lower league Roseland, while Saltash II were also handed a walkover by Bude II in the Duchy Cup.
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