DEVONPORT Services claimed back-to-back National League wins for the first time with a 38-34 victory over Macclesfield at the Rectory on Saturday to give themselves hope of producing a great escape.
The bonus-point victory followed on from a five-point success over Hinckley in their last outing and they are now only six points behind second-from-bottom Bournville and 10 behind third-from-bottom Macclesfield with six games still to go in National Two West.
It is still going to be a tall order for Services to get out of the bottom two, but they do now have hope.
“We just have to keep trying to win games,” said Services head coach Ben Russell. “We have Redruth next week away, which is a tough place to go, but we did well against them at our place and the boys are up for it.
“We have got some big games coming up and we just have to win them.”
Services were 33-17 up against Macclesfield on Saturday, but they did let their Cheshire opponents come back late on and pick up two bonus points.
“I think we were 33-17 up at one point, and then 38-24 ahead and we had the opportunity to put the game to bed and score another try, but we messed it up and they came back at the end,” said Russell.
“We wanted a five-point win, which we got, but we didn’t really want to give them any points.
“We could have just been eight points behind them (in the league), it probably should have been no more than nine, but we gave them a late try so we are 10 points behind.
“It was just such a shame we gave them that second bonus point.”
He added: “Defensively we were off. There were a lot of missed tackles, but attack-wise we scored a load of tries and did play some lovely rugby.”
Aiden Taylor gave Services the lead in the seventh minute with a catch-and-drive try.
But almost straight from the restart, Macclesfield responded with a try from Jamie Harrison.
However, Services then had a really good spell and went 19-5 ahead.
Richard West put in a 50-22 kick to get them a line-out in a dangerous area and from it the home side switched play well and winger Charlie Groves scored.
Devonport then scored from another line-out, won after a strong run by Matt Gregory. This time fly-half West nabbed the ball off Taylor to touch-down.
Macclesfield, though, came back with tries by Tom Jennings and Sam Adu, with former Devonport player Charlie Attis adding a conversion on his return to the Rectory.
That made it 19-17 to Services at half-time.
Two tries in the opening 14 minutes of the second half put Devonport firmly in control.
First, centre Tom Davies touched down before Groves added a second after a fine run and off-load from fellow back Shaun Crawford.
Dom Hanson pulled a try back for Macclesfield before hooker Taylor scored again from a line-out to make it 33-24.
However, Macclesfield did make the long trip home with two points after Harry Hughes and Andrew Darlington scored late tries.
REGIONAL ONE SOUTH WEST
IVYBRIDGE’S 10-year stay at level five looks to be over after they lost 50-35 at home to St Austell.
Although mathematically they are not officially relegated yet, the only way they could survive was if they picked up bonus point wins in all three of their remaining league games and Chew Valley and Marlborough failed to pick up anymore points from their final fixtures.
Ivybridge are 14 points behind Chew Valley, who moved out of the bottom two after beating Lydney on Saturday, and 13 behind Marlborough with only 15 points to play for.
Yet there were some positive signs for them on Saturday against St Austell, but they just paid for giving their Cornish opponents too much of a lead in the opening 25 minutes.
Ivybridge did actually take the lead in the opening minute when scrum-half James Cantin touched down and Matt Grieveson added the conversion.
But St Austell then scored a penalty and three quick tries courtesy of former Albion star Matt Shepherd (2) and ex-Liskeard-Looe number eight Adam Powell to go 22-7 ahead.
Ivybridge did show character to pull it back to 22-21 with tries by Adam Lilley and another from Cantin, both converted by Grieveson.
However, another touch-down and conversion from Saints’ Shepherd just before half-time gave the visitors a 29-21 lead at the break.
Saints enjoyed another good spell at the start of the second period and went 43-21 ahead with two tries in nine minutes courtesy of Archie Bees and Dan Tyrrell.
Yet once again the Bridgers came back with Henry Trudgill and Adam Lilley scoring to cut the lead to 43-35 with 10 minutes to go.
St Austell, though, sealed the win six minutes from time with their seventh try courtesy of Bees.
COUNTIES ONE WESTERN WEST
PLYMSTOCK Oaks and Tavistock both were beaten down in west Cornwall on Saturday in Western West.
Fourth-placed Oaks went down 50-31 in a high-scoring affair at ninth-placed St Ives.
“St Ives played really well, to be fair,” said Oaks’ head coach Lewis Paterson. “They were up for it.
“Twenty-four hours before the game we lost our front-row, so we had to really switch it up. Andy Porter went to the front-row.
“We also had a few injuries during the game.”
Porter and Corey Jamieson both scored two tries for Oaks, who also had Matt Jackson crossing the whitewash and Lew Riley kicking the rest of the points.
It did continue a poor record in west Cornwall for Oaks, who had also lost at Redruth II and Pirates Amateurs.
“They are long trips and we don’t get buses to the games,” said Paterson. “Sometimes we might get the train or lads come in dribs and drabs. It’s hard to have that build up to the game when it’s a long trip and you haven’t got a bus.
“But there were a lot of positives to take. There were a few young lads stepping up and that’s good development for next year.
“Max Ringrose came on at half-time and he did really well.”
Tavistock’s poor season continued as they went down 72-12 at third-from-bottom Penryn.
The Moorlanders travelled to Cornwall with just 15 players and they ran out of legs in the final quarter. It was only 35-12 after 55 minutes.
The heavy defeat means Tavistock are almost certain to finish second-from-bottom with three games still to go.
Despite the 60-point loss, player-coach Hammy Kerswill praised the players that did travel and for the character they showed.
“It was a very spirited effort,” he said. “It didn’t feel as hefty a loss as it was to be honest as their kicker kicked everything.
“We were in the game for long periods and our scrum dominated.
“We travelled with 15 after further drop-outs the night before.
“Ade Baker came out of retirement and had a great game at set-piece and around the park, to name just one, but I could not have been prouder of all the lads for getting the game on. We’ve never conceded a league game and I’d love to think we won’t, but unfortunately this struggle is being seen by more and more clubs across multiple divisions. I just hope it improves.”
Liam Watts scored from good play from a scrum before Martin Budden added Tavistock’s second try after taking a quick-tap penalty.
COUNTIES TWO CORNWALL
SALTASH will be playing in Western West next season after their promotion was confirmed on Saturday.
After narrowly missing out in the previous two seasons, the Ashes finally won the Counties Two Cornwall title at a sunny Lux Park against Liskeard-Looe.
However, after waiting so long, it was not probably achieved in the style Saltash would have liked, although it probably did sum up their three-year stay in the division.
Liskeard-Looe handed them the walkover before the match, although they did agree to play a friendly fixture.
That did start off as 15 v 15, but by midway through the second half it was down to 13 v 13 and the scrums had gone uncontested before the referee did end the game early with the score at 62-0.
“It would have been nice to have had a full-on battle,” admitted Saltash’s director of rugby Steve Down. “But they put a game on and that’s all we can ask for at the end of the day.”
Down admitted after narrowly missing out for two seasons in a row, it was just nice to be confirmed as champions. But he says they still have plenty of goals left for this year’s campaign.
“We’ll try to keep winning and battling as there are still things we want to achieve,” he said. “We’d like to finish the league unbeaten and then look towards the cup competitions.
“I’ve been informed that there is a cup for going through a season unbeaten, so that’s got to be the aim. I think our last two promotions came from second position, so it is really nice to nail it and get that top spot.”
Saltash also have the Lockie Cup, Cornwall Cup and the Papa Johns Cup to look forward to.
But it was the league title that had been their ultimate goal at the start of the campaign.
“We have worked really, really hard over the last few years,” said Down.
“This journey for me started when we unfortunately got relegated (from Western West) during covid by 0.3 of a point.
“It’s been a long journey back. We lost some players at the beginning, and we have had to rebuild, but I’m really proud and pleased.
“I am relieved. It’s nice to take that pressure off. It was a bit of a monkey on our backs, but now we can look to the future.
“We want to keep building. We are still bringing young lads on and we still think there is a lot to come from us and this group of players. We now want to test ourselves in Counties One Western West. We are really looking forward to the next challenge.”
He added: “The whole year has been a real team effort. We’ve had more coaches come in and had fresh pairs of eyes looking at things. Lewis (Wells) stepped up as head coach this season and has done a cracking job and Maz (James Moriarty) has skippered really well. It really has been a combined effort to create that environment where we are actually performing and winning. It’s not just me, it’s not just Albert (Hall), or anybody it really is a collective thing.
“I think we have got the balance right on and off the field.”
The Liskeard-Looe side, which include a few young players, did battle hard but Saltash always had too much fire power for them, even without hitting anywhere near top form.
Captain James Moriarty and centre Greg Eatwell proved thorns for Liskeard on the day.
Winger Moriarty finished with four tries and Eatwell three.
Tom Rixon got them underway with an early try before Will Morton showed his finishing prowess.
Moriarty claimed a first half hat-trick with three tries in the left corner before Greg Eatwell added one on the left before crossing in the opposite corner as Saltash led 45-0 at the break
Greg Eatwell bagged their first of the second period, which was followed by one for Ryan Cruickshanks before Moriarty finished off the scoring with another on the left. Jack Pritchard kicked well and added six conversions.
COUNTIES TWO DEVON
TAMAR Saracens boosted their hopes of staying in Counties Two Devon with a much-needed 22-7 victory over their old rivals Dartmouth at the Parkway on Saturday.
In recent years, Dartmouth have been Sarries’ bogey team and they have lost to them so many times by just one score.
But on Saturday they got a convincing victory which has moved them up from third-from-bottom to eighth in the standings.
The bottom end of the table is still tight, with just five points separating Sarries from second-from-bottom Exmouth II, but the Ernesettle club were just happy to pick up four points to give themselves some breathing space.
“It was an excellent win,” said Saracens’ director of rugby Pete Lethbridge. “I’d say it was probably the best we have played all season.
“It was a difficult game, but first half we were just all over them in every department.”
Sarries did lead 19-0 at the break with Rob Hall kicking four penalties and Adam Coutts adding a converted try.
“I was concerned about how we were winning against South Molton but then imploded, but I just said to the players at half-time to just keep playing and doing what they were doing and just play the systems and don’t take any risks,” added Lethbridge.
“To be fair to Dartmouth, they came out second half all guns blazing, as we knew they would. They camped in our 22 for at least 10 minutes but we got out and got down the other end and got another penalty, which Hall converted.
“Our defence was outstanding. I can’t fault the players. They just tackled everything.
“Dartmouth did score a try with the last play of the game. It was a little bit disappointing to concede that try, but I can’t fault all 18 players. It was a great performance by them all.
“It was nice to get a win over them after the last few seasons where we have been so close.
“We didn’t force it, we just wanted to get that win. I was really pleased for the players as they really put a shift in.”
Plymouth Argaum know they are facing relegation after losing 74-10 to league leaders Torquay Athletic at Bickleigh down.
Although their return to level nine is not yet confirmed, it might be next weekend.
“It was another tough game,” said Argaum head coach Dean Avery, who had to play the full 80 minutes. “They (Torquay) showed why they are top of the league. They are a strong and physical side and every time they broke a tackle they went through well and we struggled to get back on side.
“They scored quite freely, but we did have a bit of ball and scored two tries.”
Ryan Neagle scored from 30 yards for Argaum, with Kieran Burring adding their second.
Avery added: “It’s been a tough end to the season and we are pretty much relegated now. We just have to look at re-grouping.
“I took over the club three years ago and we probably went up a little bit too early and we have never established ourselves in the league.
“If we do go down we just have to regroup and rebuild and get some of the players back that we have been lacking this year.”
The win for Torquay, coupled with Devonport Services II’s surprising 48-46 home defeat to Topsham II, means the Tics just need one more point to be confirmed as champions.
Services II were disappointed to lose, but they did have 10 changes to the side that played the previous week.
Ben Callard did get a hat-trick of tries for Devonport, with Ethan Millard bagging two. There were also touch-downs for Khane Taylor-Young, and Luke Stannard to go with a penalty try, while Danny Ronald kicked the rest of their points.
Seventh-placed OPMs were left frustrated to only pick up a point from their home game against top-four side Exeter Saracens.
The Old Boys were leading 28-17 after 60 minutes but ended up losing 36-28.
“The second half went on forever,” said OPMs team manager Shaun Grundy. “I think we played an extra 20 minutes with all the stoppages, but it just really came down to discipline and errors at the end.
“But in terms of actual performance, when we came off we realised there was no reason to be disappointed.
“As frustrating as it is – and we were all grumpy after the last 20 – but what a performance for the first 60.
“About 10 minutes into the second half we got our bonus point try and we were ahead against a side in the top four.
“They scored in the 79th minute and the kick-off was the last play of the game but they scored off it so we didn’t get the extra losing bonus point.
“But there was a huge amount of positives, but clearly incredibly disappointing.”
He added: “We struggled with selection to be honest. We only had 17 so only had two substitutions and a special mention needs to go to Keith Pascoe who came out to support the first team for about the first time in a decade.”
Exeter Saracens did have a player sent off for two yellow cards in the second half, but OPMs advantage was cancelled out after they picked up three yellow cards and at one point it was 14 v 12.
Fred Smale scored two tries for OPMs, with Tom Rayner and Frankie McNulty also crossing the whitewash and Matt Smale kicked two penalties and a conversion.
COUNTIES THREE
IVYBRIDGE II and Old Techs kept up the pace at the top of Counties Three Devon South & West with bonus point wins on Saturday.
But whereas leaders Ivybridge II enjoyed a comfortable 77-14 away win over bottom side Kingsbridge II, second-placed Old Techs had to dig deep to see off Torquay Athletic II 47-36 away.
Techs were leading 19-17 at half-time but then Torquay went in front after the interval, but the visitors showed character to comeback.
“It was a tough day at the office,” said Techs chairman David Evans. “But we dug in and got the win. It was a game that we would have lost last season, but we ground out a win.
“We changed things around in the second half and got there in the end.
“It was one of those days where nothing really seemed to be going right, but after changing things around we started to play a lot better.”
Prop James Bothma and hooker Connor McQueen both scored two tries, before backs Kieran Hurrell, Dan Pullen and Will Booth crossed the whitewash. Sam Matts kicked the rest of their points.
Elsewhere in the division, Plymstock Oaks II were beaten 49-3 away at Salcombe, while Plympton Victoria handed title-chasing Brixham II a home walkover.
In Counties Three Cornwall, Saltash II were narrowly beaten 23-15 at home by St Ives II.
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