TEENAGER Elliott Pocknell enjoyed a dream first team debut for Devonport Services as they beat Chew Valley 31-7 away on Saturday to move back to the top of Regional One South West.
The second-year colt scored two tries in Somerset – the first coming after just 90 seconds.
There were also impressive league debuts for former Saltash players Rob Walsh and Freddie Dover in a much-changed Services side.
“All the lads that came in did really well,” said Services head coach Ben Russell.
“Elliott Pocknell was brilliant and scored two tries on his debut as a 17-year-old.
“Rob Walsh did well and our line-out was a lot better this week.
“Freddy Dover came on after about 15 minutes as Liam Jarvis got a knock to his knee and Freddie was brilliant.
“Charlie Over did some lovely stuff in attack and ran hard and tackle well and Charlie Groves did really well after he came in after been on the bench last week.”
He added: “We could have scored more as we made loads of breaks and played some lovely rugby but just didn’t finish.
“It was a good win. We have got a week off, which is good as it was a very physical game and we have a few bruised bodies.”
Services, keen to bounce back from their frustrating 10-9 home defeat to Brixham the previous week, made a great start at Chew Valley.
They kicked off and Chew gathered and kicked for touch. From the line-out, Services attacked with Pocknell, who exchanged passes with Groves to score on his first senior start at any level.
The visitors took a 17-0 lead into the break, with Charlie Groves getting their second try.
Fit-again Sam Brown, who had missed last week’s game with Brixham, scored an inception try, before Tom Davies also crossed. Pocknell then added their fifth, and his second, late on.
Services were boosted by their title-rivals Topsham losing 17-10 at in-form St Austell.
Brixham backed up their narrow win over Services last weekend by beating Exmouth 49-24 and, if they beat Chew Valley next weekend in a rearranged game, they will be back in the title race.
REGIONAL TWO SOUTH WEST
IVYBRIDGE suffered their first home defeat of the season as they were narrowly edged out 41-38 by second-placed Tiverton in a thriller at Cross-in-Hand.
The Bridgers were 38-22 up midway through the second half, but Tiverton came back and snatch victory with a late converted try from Alex Curtis.
It was the second time this season Tiverton had beaten Ivybridge narrowly late on, having triumphed 27-24 at Coronation Field in October.
“It was a great game to watch, with lots of tries from both sides” said Ivybridge head coach Steve Atkinson.
“We went 14 points up in the second half and it got a bit scrappy around the ruck – we were aware they would bring that – and they managed to claw back a couple of tries and just pipped us at the end again.
“Their celebrations at the end was like they’d won a cup final, so it just goes to show how much it means to play against Ivybridge.”
On losing their unbeaten home record, Atkinson added: “I said to the lads that records are there to be broken, but we can still hold our heads high.
“Where we’ve come from last season to now is brilliant and I’m really proud of the way the lads conducted themselves after another great game where we’ve just missed out again.”
Ivybridge went 12-0 behind early on with scrum-half Curtis and experienced prop Will Norton scoring tries for Tiverton.
The home side reduced the gap with a try from Shay Taylor, which Harry Newman-Wild converted.
Newman-Wild then added a penalty before Tiverton then went 17-10 in front with a touch-down from winger Ben Bingham.
However, the Bridgers ended the first half well and scored two converted tries courtesy of Owen Garner and Seb Musgrave to take a 24-17 lead into the break.
The home side then added another after the interval courtesy of Adam Lilley to go 31-17 in front.
Tiverton did pull one back through Adam Howell, but then Owen Garner scored again and Newman-Wild converted to put Ivybridge 38-22 up with 60 minutes played.
But two tries by Andrew Hayball closed the gap to four points and with less than two minutes to play, Curtis pounced to score the winner with Callum Stone converted.
COUNTIES ONE WESTERN WEST
PLYMSTOCK Oaks were another team to suffer late frustration as they were beaten 33-24 away at Redruth II.
The match was in danger of getting postponed, but it was agreed to switch it to Redruth Albany’s pitch.
The game was nip-and-tuck all afternoon. The sides changed ends level at 12-12 and there was only two points in the game until the 74th minute.
Oaks had the chance to pick up two bonus points at the end when they were awarded a penalty, but the players were wrongly told they were only four points behind and so went for the corner, only to lose the line-out.
“We got a bonus point, but we really should have had two,” said coach Mike Lewis.
“We were nine points behind and we sent the message on that we needed the three points, but the referee told the players we were only four points behind, so they said ‘all right we’ll go for the corner’.
“We went for the corner but lost the ball.”
He added: “It was one of those games where we were winning, then they were winning, but they kicked one more conversion than us so they were 26-24 up going into the closing stages.
“Instead of going for the posts we kept going for the corner as there was still 20 minutes to go. Maybe if we gone for goal a few more times, we might have edged it, but we might not have as well.
“We scored a try in the first half and everyone could see it, but the referee said it was held up as there was a finger under it.
“We definitely should have beaten them (Redruth II) at home and this one we could have won, but we didn’t.
“I think we probably just made more mistakes overall and that’s what won them the game. It was just little things – we were just 10 per cent off.
“If we had just been a bit more accurate we would have picked up five points.
“It was just another one of those games that got away from us.
“There are probably three that have this season – Wiveliscombe at home and Redruth home and away.”
Oaks also suffered a blow with young second-rower Alfie Upton suffered a serious shoulder injury.
“Alfie Upton has popped his AC joint, which will probably need an operation,” said Lewis. “He was playing so well to that point. He was phenomenal in defence and carried so well in attack.
“We lost Aidan Webb last week with a broken arm, so we have lost two influential young players in two weeks.”
Will Scantlebury and Lewis Paterson scored tries for Oaks in the first half, with Nat Dart and Luke Johnson touching down for the hosts.
In the second half, Joe Donnelly and Archie Gray adding further scores for Oaks, while Bailey Williams, Oliver Darby and Dart went over the whitewash for the hosts.
The bonus point Oaks collected has moved them seven points in front of second-from-bottom Saltash, whose home game against Kingsbridge was postponed as their Moorlands Lane pitch was unplayable.
COUNTIES TWO DEVON
DEVONPORT Services II’s lead at the top of Counties Two Devon was cut to six points after they suffered a frustrating 21-15 home defeat to Honiton.
It was the second time this season Honiton had narrowly beaten them, having triumphed 34-31 at Allhallows in October.
The difference on Saturday was goalkicking, with both teams scoring three tries each.
“We had loads of boys missing,” said Services head coach Ben Russell. “There were loads of changes to last week, but, to be fair, we both scored three tries
“I’m told we had a chance at the end. We’ve got penalty advantage and Aiden (Taylor) has kicked over the top but the referee has then blown up rather than give the penalty.”
Services II were forced to make eight changes to their team that beat Exeter Saracens so well away the previous week. Three of their promising colts were given a chance and Devon under-18 captain Nathan Todd impressed.
Todd scored Services II’s opening try, with Henry Gascoyne and James McFarlane adding their others.
It was not a good day for the region’s teams in Counties Two Devon as Ivybridge II, Tavistock and OPMs all lost.
Ivybridge II did nearly cause a major shock by pushing second-placed Bideford all the way before narrowly losing 25-24 in north Devon.
“The twos almost pulled off a fantastic away win,” said Ivybridge head coach Steve Atkinson.
“I was told we had a kick in the end to win but missed.
“It was an unbelievable effort to go up to Bideford and pick up a point considering they put 50 on us at the start of the season.”
Third-from-bottom Tavistock were left frustrated after they were beaten 29-10 away at Withycombe.
Tylo Coupland and Jai Popplewell scored their tries at Raleigh Park.
“If I’m honest, I think that was a missed opportunity – and I think the lads agree,” said Tavistock head coach Leigh Puttock.
“We were good enough to win, but in terms of execution they deserved to win as they executed their points.
“We had some good performances out there.
“There are very few teams in the league that can touch our scrum – that is a true Tavvy take at the moment.
“James Lamb moved to full-back as Logan Suish pulled out the night before, but James looked dangerous all game.
“And Michael Chapman made his debut, as did Jonathon Taylor, and they both added something.
“The periods that we were pounding them, our structure was good, but it was just about execution at the end of the day.
“The pitch was horrible and, if I’m honest, we struggled to get on the same page as the referee, but we know how important they are so we have to accept it.”
OPMs also returned empty-handed from an away trip as they were beaten 39-12 at South Molton, who are the only team to have so far done the double over them, having narrowly beaten them 17-15 at King George V Playing Fields earlier in the season.
Saturday’s game was quite even in the first half, but South Molton pulled away in the second period.
Will Mills and Fred Smale scored tries for OPMs, with Fred Smale also converting his effort.
COUNTIES THREE DEVON SOUTH & WEST
PLYMOUTH Argaum became the first team to beat runaway leaders Brixham II in Devon South & West this season.
Third-placed Argaum triumphed 25-24 at Bickleigh down on Saturday thanks to a late try by JJ Vom Hagen.
Head coach Dean Avery, a former Brixham stalwart, got Argaum off the mark with a try in the fourth minute, with Dan Smith and Jake Turfrey adding further tries in the second period before Vom Hagen’s winner from a driving maul.
“It was a fantastic game,” said Avery. “And there were quite a few people up there watching.
“We managed to deprive them (Brixham) of ball and we stuck really well to our tight game-plan. We didn’t do anything silly.
“We scrummed hard and carried tight and we were still in it at the end.
“Similar to last week (against Salcombe), they scored near the end and celebrated thinking the game was won.
“We kicked off to them but managed to get turnover and put the ball in the corner and drove 15 or 20 metres and we scored to win the game. There was about a minute-and-a-half left and we just kept it tight and then kicked the ball out.
“They were very frustrated afterwards and there was a red card issued to them after for chat.
“To be fair, we kept the ball and just frustrated them. I think that is what we have to do when people come to Bickleigh, especially well-established and good clubs like Brixham.”
He added: “This is what we needed in the club.
“We do look back at our results, and we look back at the Old Techs came and the Torquay away game when we had poor availability and think ‘what if?’.
We were well-beaten at Brixham, but I don’t think there is any reason why we couldn’t be joint top. “However, it is down to availability. We just have to build on this and look to next season.”
Argaum have announced that Tom Worboys is to become their new forwards coach after deciding to retire on medical advice due to a neck injury.
“I know it is real shame to lose Tom as a player, but he was on the sidelines and his voice was really good,” said Avery.
Billy Evans scored an impressive five tries as Old Techs continued their good form by beating Plymstock Oaks 57-12 away at Horsham Fields on Saturday.
Techs are on a four-game winning streak and their strong runners like Evans, Ollie Davey, Josh O’Hare and James Smith-Jones really caused Oaks problems, as did their impressive scrum.
The visitors made a stunning start and scored two tries in the opening four minutes and were 24-0 up after just 17 minutes.
Davey got their first after he burst through from kick-off and eventually scored after less than a minute.
Smith-Jones added their second with a 50-metre break from a tap penalty and then Evans burst through after Kieran Hurrell had been stopped short before Jensen Baker added their fourth straight from the next re-start.
But the young Oaks side, with full-back Jacob Chapman always looking dangerous, did re-group and pulled two tries back through Sam Howard and Lance Davies in a first half that was played at an incredible pace
Techs, with their scrum dominating, should have scored at least a couple more tries before half-time, but Oaks did well to stop them.
However, Techs did take nearly all their chances in the second half when they were playing downhill.
Evans added two before Davey scored a cracker after Smith-Jones had burst from deep in his own half and timed his pass perfectly for Davey to run in from 45 metres.
Evans then added two more in the final 10 minutes with more powerful runs.
“We started really, really well,” said Old Techs’ Shaun Bedford-Smith. “We scored after about 30 seconds and then scored another again quickly.
“We then lost a bit of structure in the final 20 minutes of the first half and you have to give credit to Oaks. They could have easily crumbled but they didn’t.
“They had a few young lads out there who found some space and they ran it back at us and scored a couple of tries.
“I think there was only two tries in it at half-time.
“I think we ran out of steam a bit in the final 20 of the first half as the first 20 minutes was so frantic. I think we were huffing and puffing a bit.
“At 24-12 I was thinking it could go either way if they got another try as they have got some good young players there.
“But we managed to re-group at half-time and played some good rugby and scored some good tries.
“Second half we changed it around a little bit and told the players what we wanted – which was to get back to our structure and systems.”
He added: “The last three or four games we have really played some good rugby.
“We are in a bit of form and seem to have clicked a bit. It was a good game to watch – I certainly enjoyed it.”
Plympton Victoria took positives from their home performance against top-five side Torquay Athletic on Saturday.
Plym Vic were beaten 38-16, but that was a big improvement on earlier in the season when they went down 57-13 against them.
“It wasn’t too shabby at all,” said Plym Vic chairman Chris Hunt.
“It was a lot better than the last time we played them.
“Sometimes we are probably our worst enemy. They scored an intercept try or two when we coughed the ball up in vital areas.
“It probably could have been even better if we had just been a bit more patient, but there was improvements all over the place.”
Watched by league secretary Phil Spearey, Plym Vic scored a try through Martin Hough and Chris Barratt kicked three penalties and a conversion.
Plym Vic did say goodbye to Ethan Pringle on Saturday as he played his last game before going to Australia
Tamar Saracens were without a match at the weekend, while in Counties Three Cornwall, Saltash II’s away trip to Camborne School of Mines was postponed due to an unplayable pitch.
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