IVYBRIDGE find themselves eight points away from safety in Regional One South West after they were beaten 46-14 away at Marlborough on Saturday.
The Bridgers had travelled to Wiltshire missing a number of players, including Adam Northcott, Chey Bryce, Charlie Teague and Hamish Harris, and they found themselves 29-0 down at half-time.
Marlborough, who boast a number of South Sea Islanders and army players in their squad, scored five first half tries. Sione Matakaiango bagged two, with Semisi Drauvaki, Jonasa Ciri Tabua and Ashley Horner also touching down.
Ivybridge pulled a converted try back after the interval when prop Elliot Harwood went over.
Matakaiango kicked a penalty for the home side before Harwood added another converted try to make it 32-14.
The home side were reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes after Chris Diamond was yellow carded.
But Marlborough added another try courtesy of Akariva Seruvatu before they were restored to 15 men and then Seruvatu added a second try near the end.
The home club did have Charlie Ladds yellow carded in injury-time but it did not make any difference.
Ivybridge stay second-from-bottom and with Matson and St Austell winning and Sidmouth picking up a losing bonus point the gap between them and the sides above them has grown.
They will now be desperate to pick up some points at home to Lydney next Saturday.
COUNTIES ONE WESTERN WEST
PLYMSTOCK Oaks have dropped down to third in the Western West table after they were beaten 32-19 away at Kingsbridge on Saturday.
Oaks, who had started the day as leaders with only one defeat in their opening nine games, had to play 50 minutes of the match at High House with 14 players after full-back Corey Jamieson was red carded for what the referee deemed a tip tackle.
They were only 15-12 down at the break with Duncan Bibby and Matt Jackson scoring first half tries, but Kingsbridge did pull away in the second period before Ollie Dunn scored a late converted try for Oaks.
“We were just a bit up against it on the day,” said Oaks head coach Lewis Paterson.
“We had Tyrone (Hancock), our new ex-Scotland U20 prop, have to go off after just one scrum and then Corey Jamieson got sent off, so we played a lot of the game with 14.
“There were some dubious decisions, but, to be fair, we did very well, especially as we played the last 20 minutes with 13 men and we still scored at the end.
“We were physical and that game was there for the taking, but when you go down (in numbers) at that level playing away from home and it’s their VPs day then it’s just a battle.
“They got a couple of scores that kind of built their momentum a bit.
“They were good. I’m not taking anything away from Kingsbridge as they are a good side and they had a good win, but I think we were just right up against it from the off with us losing our main prop and then going down to 14 men. It was then a real battle.
“But, as I said, the lads actually played some good rugby and we fronted up well.
“Full credit to our boys, we were very good and physical and our set-piece was very dominant. We did play some good rugby, but probably didn’t execute as well as we should.”
Oaks could return to the top of the table next weekend if they were to beat new leaders Paignton at Horsham Fields.
Paignton will go into that vital game boosted by a 94-12 home victory over struggling Tavistock, who were once again missing a host of players.
It is the third time this season Tavistock have conceded more than 70 points in an away match.
But Saturday was their biggest league defeat since losing 82-0 away at Falmouth in November 2016.
They did at least score two tries on Saturday at Paignton with the experienced Hammy Kerswill and Martin Budden scoring from forward plays.
Captain and player-coach Kerswill described the afternoon as ‘tough’.
“Paignton are the best side in this league and from one to 18 were high quality,” said Kerswill.
“But, ultimately, we didn’t do enough defending first phase.
“Our set-piece I was happy with given it all and it was really pleasing to see George Cole, Keelan Williams and Tylo Coupland effective in attack.
“We had three debutants, none of whom had ever really played senior rugby, let alone for the ones. They’re keen, want to learn and they did not disgrace themselves at all in what was a true baptism of fire.
“I’ve played in 40-point losses and been more disappointed but leaking the points we are is a morale killer.
“We have an old boys’ dinner next week and hope we can get a few more boys back on the pitch to put in a performance.”
The defeat leaves Tavistock sitting second-from-bottom in Western West – a league where a maximum of three could be relegated and a minimum of none.
COUNTES TWO CORNWALL
SALTASH marked the halfway point of their league season with a professional 43-0 away win over third-placed Newquay Hornets.
They start December, 15 points clear at the top of the table, although they have played a game more than second-placed Helston.
But few people would bet against them now of finishing top come the end of March, especially considering they have only lost three league games in the past two-and-a-half seasons.
However, they were made to work hard in the first half by Newquay, who were unbeaten at home this season.
Saltash, though, did get on the board in the 10th minute when lock James Sutton went over for a try to give the visitors a 5-0 lead.
Newquay stifled the Ashes attack on numerous occasions to gain good field position and it was not until the 35th minute that Saltash scored a second through flanker Lewis Wells, which was converted by full-back Ryan Cruickshanks for a 12-0 lead.
Further pack power saw the ball spun wide from a Saltash driving maul for wing Will Morton to score in the corner for a 17-0 lead at the break.
The Ashes picked up where they had left off in the second half and scored in the 44th minute through veteran lock Tom Rixson. Cruickshanks added the extras to extend the lead to 24-0 for the visitors.
With the try bonus secured, the Saltash bench was emptied and it proved fruitful for replacement Charlie Knight, who was on the end of some fine inter-play from the pack to score and extend the lead to 29-0.
The final scores for Saltash came from wing Jim Moriarty, converted by Cruickshanks, who then scored the final try, which he also converted.
COUNTIES TWO DEVON
DEVONPORT Services II suffered their first defeat of the season as they were beaten 29-14 by league leaders Torquay Athletic in a top-of-the-table clash at the Rectory.
Both sides had won their opening nine games, but Services II were missing too many regular forwards on the day to really offer Torquay the challenge they would have liked to have done.
Devonport’s second string defended really well and scrum-half Dylan Daley looked very sharp on his return to action after a lengthy lay off due to injury.
But unable to call on the likes Tyler Busfield, Al Thomas, Mike Hunt, Oli Lane and Yianni Costas, they struggled in the set-piece. They hardly won any line-out ball and one of Torquay’s tries came after they pushed Services off a scrum.
Torquay did start off well and centre Andrew Gormley came close to scoring before Daley nearly pounced on a kick through by Services.
The opening try did come in the ninth minute when Torquay prop Craig Withers scored after full-back Mawgan Penrice did well to off-load to him as he was tackled in the corner.
Services II had Charlie Groves yellow carded in the 15th minute, but they took the lead two minutes later when scrum-half Daley scored a fine individual effort. He took a tap penalty in his own half and broke down the right before kicking forward and winning the race to gather the ball and score. Leighton Stark added the conversion to make it 7-5.
It stayed that way until the 31st minute when Torquay scored a second try when winger Matt Butler touched down in the left corner following some good pressure after the visitors had stolen a Services line-out.
The visitors then added a third try with the last play of the half when they pushed Services off a scrum and former Plymouth Albion number eight George Mills touched down. Lewis Crocker converted to make it 19-7 at half-time to the Tics.
Torquay got the all-important fourth try straight at the start of the second period when scrum-half Callum Crocker went over on the left.
After that Devonport probably had the better of the second half and replacement Owen Kerswell scored in the 57th minutes after a good attack from a scrum.
Stark added the conversion to make it 24-14, but they could not get another score to close the gap and in the final three minutes Torquay added a fifth try through winger Morgan Alcock before they had Lewis Harben sin-binned.
Torquay have now opened up a six-point lead over Services II, who in turn are eight points clear of third-placed Honiton.
Honiton closed the gap after they beat OPMs 39-16 at King George V Playing Fields on Saturday.
Ben Phillips gave Honiton the lead with an early penalty, but OPMs hit back after opting for a scrum from a penalty and they eventually broke and Fred Smale scored a converted try.
The home side had the chance to increase their lead but a penalty attempt just drifted wide.
Honiton were reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes in a game littered with penalties and eventually Matt Smale did kick a three-pointer to increase his side’s lead to 10-3.
Honiton levelled late on the half with a converted try by Alfie Lang, but OPMs went in 13-10 up at the break after Matt Smale kicked a penalty right on half-time.
The Old Boys increased that to 16-10 after the interval with another Matt Smale penalty.
But gradually Honiton upped their game. Phillips kicked a penalty to reduce the gap to three points before the visitors went ahead with a try by James Coutts, which was converted. That made it 20-16 to the east Devon side.
OPMs then found themselves on the wrong side of the referee and picked up a yellow card and Honiton increased their lead with a try by hooker Rob Price.
The Old Boys tried their best to get back into it, but Honiton defended well and a good kick and then a penalty eventually gave the visitors another chance which Jon House took to make it 32-16.
And Honiton added another try in the closing stages courtesy of Ollie Rice.
“It was a really solid performance from us for the first 40 minutes,” said OPMs team manager Shaun Grundy. “But they (Honiton) seemed to want it more in the second half and we weren’t able to swing back the momentum once they had got into their flow.
“There were some really positive performances, including our new signing at nine, Phrankie McNulty.
“We were disappointed we didn’t come away with more, but there was lots to build on through training this week and looking forward to Withycombe next Saturday.”
It was not a good day for the Plymouth sides in the division as Plymouth Argaum and Tamar Saracens were also beaten at home.
Argaum went down 36-14 to fourth-placed Exeter Saracens. It followed on from heavy defeats against Torquay, Topsham II and Dartmouth and leaves them in the bottom two.
Head coach Dean Avery felt the performance was better but feels his team are suffering from not having any consistency with players.
“In the first half-an-hour we defended well and kept them out, but they eventually broke and scored on the 30th minute mark,” said Avery.
“From the restart we went down their end and put a lot of pressure on. We had two five-metre line-outs and were down there for a period of time, but did not come away with any points and before we knew it we were going in 19-0 down, which was disappointing as we could have easily been 7-5 up.
“Second half we have come out and competed but our line-outs and scrums were poor. The guys that came in had not been playing much rugby as people were coming back from injuries.
“It was a bit frustrating as it was a better performance, but as a team we didn’t play that well.”
He added: “They (Exeter Saracens) showed why they are in the top four.
“Yes, the scoreboard looks a bit more positive than our previous results, but I just want a side that is playing and training regularly and at the moment we have not got that.
“If you have not got a line-out or scrum then you are not going to win games and that’s why you need players playing who are consistent.”
Argaum, who had Darren Ewers and Dan Smith scoring tries, were not helped by having to finish the match with 14 players as they had to use all three of their replacements in the first half due to injuries.
Tamar Saracens were beaten 40-14 at home by Topsham II after a poor first half that saw them change ends 33-0 down.
“We were awful first half,” admitted director of rugby Pete Lethbridge. “It’s probably the worst I have seen us play all season and I couldn’t put a finger on why.
“They (Topsham) had a decent side out and played really well.
“In the line-out and scrummaging we were superb – we were on top in the forwards – but in the backs we missed tackles and our shape was not right.
“We just weren’t on the boil first half and went in 33-0 down and so it was an uphill battle in the second half.
“But we just wanted to show a bit of pride second half and we did win it 14-7.”
Sarries got a penalty try and then Robbie Fowler scored and Rob Hall converted to get them 14 points in the second 40 minutes.
“It was a bizarre first half,” said Lethbridge. “We were just really flat. The boys are disappointed in themselves.
“But second half I couldn’t fault their commitment and will to put right the wrongs of the first half, so I have to give them praise for that.”
COUNTIES THREE
IT has got a bit more interesting at the top of Counties Three Devon South & West after leaders Brixham II were surprisingly beaten at home by Salcombe.
It means now that just one single point separates Brixham II, Ivybridge II and Old Techs at the top.
Old Techs were handed a walkover by Kingsbridge II at the weekend, while Ivybridge II were without a game. Those two teams meet in a big game at Weston Mill next weekend.
Seventh-placed Plympton Victoria were unhappy with their performance as they were beaten 41-0 away at Torquay Athletic II, who played most of the game with 14 players after picking up a red card early on.
“On the day, the best team won, but we should have done better, especially as they were a man down after just two minutes,” said chairman Chris Hunt, who had to play more than half a game due to injuries picked up by the visitors. “We gave them a lot of their points.
“It was that final five per cent again. We didn’t stick to the game-plan and it showed and we lost the ball in contact too much.
“All right we got a fixture and all that good stuff, but we have to expect better from ourselves.”
It was a bit of a day to forget for Plym Vic as one player dislocated his hip and another suffered a serious Achilles injury.
In the same division, second-from-bottom Plymstock Oaks II were beaten 29-14 at home by Totnes.
Oaks II were leading 14-10 at half-time thanks to tries by Sam Howard and Dion Todd, but Totnes came back in the second period.
A club spokesperson said: “It was a good effort by the lads with only two on the bench.
“There were some stand-out performances from Ed Coombes, Dion Todd, Ben Ross, Andrew Porter and Cobey Bradford.
“With limited subs and injuries throughout the game it was a good result and none of the lads let their heads drop.
“We just move on to next week now. We have changed in the last four weeks on how things are being run as a collective from the club, and it is working wonders. People are returning back to play, and enjoying the game – and even though we lost they are enjoying it so far.”
In Counties Three Cornwall, Saltash II claimed their biggest win of the season as they overcame Lankelly-Fowey 74-5 at Moorlands Lane.
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