NATIONAL TWO WEST
DEVONPORT Services are hoping to use their forthcoming week off to regroup after suffering their joint biggest National League defeat on Saturday.
An injury-hit Services team were beaten 75-12 away at Clifton, who were in National One last season.
The margin of defeat matched the 70-7 home loss they suffered at the hands of Camborne in 2024.
They ended up travelling to Bristol with just four regular first team players from last season due to injuries and unavailabilities.
Already missing Mike Rickard, Liam Jarvis, Harrison Coonick, Shaun Crawford, Henry Gliddon, Charlie Groves, Harry Pickett, Henry Clement, George Pooley, Oli Symons and Shaun Crouch, they also lost Finn White the day before, Fergus Wood in the warm-up to a calf injury and then Sam Brown early on after he pulled his hamstring.
It meant Devonport had a very unfamiliar line-up with Ewan Piercy, Elliott Pocknell, Ben Whysall, Charlie Over, Alex Gibson, Ethan Hilland and Henry Gascoyne all starting and Elliott Lupson and Will Tanswell making their National League debuts for the club from the bench.
“The day was summed up by the fact that we lost Fergus to a pulled calf in the warm-up so only had four subs and then 10 minutes into the game we lost Sam (Brown) to a pulled hamstring,” said head coach Ben Russell.
“I can’t fault the endeavour, effort, commitment and work-rate from the lads.
“Some players played really well and they worked really hard.
“When we actually got our defensive shape, we did chop people and when we attacked, we did it quite well.
“But they (Clifton) are very, very good. They are going to be a top three team and they just ran at us and scored tries. They just did the simple stuff very well and picked us off.”
He added: “This week off cannot come quick enough.
“We have played the top six sides and Lymm away. We have played all the best sides and it has been tough, but hopefully we can turn it a bit around after the break.
“Hopefully, we can get a few more players back. It would be lovely if we could.”
Clifton scored 13 tries in total on Saturday. They led 32-5 at half-time, with Elliott Pocknell scoring Services’ only try in the first half.
Callum Arnold added a second try for Devonport in the second period, but that was all they had to show from their trip to Station Road.
Clifton’s try scorers were Tom Quinlan (2), Dylan Power (2), Oscar Rees, Max McCarthy, Ricardo Cano, Harry Tovey, Harry Johnson, Harry Leigh, Niall Gibbons, Hayden Main and Michael Whittaker.
REGIONAL TWO SOUTH WEST
IVYBRIDGE moved into the top four of Regional Two South West after they beat newly-promoted Wiveliscombe 26-14 at Cross-in-Hand on Saturday.
It was the Bridgers’ third home victory of the season and came courtesy of tries by Ed Foster, Aaron Williams, Matt Skeemer and Joe Owen.
The home team led 12-0 at the break, before Wiveliscombe brought it back to 12-7 after the interval.
Ivybridge then went 26-7 in front before the visitors were awarded a penalty try.
“We had a really good start and went 12-0 up,” said head coach Steve Atkinson. “We were really patient in the first 15 minutes to get those tries.
“They (Wiveliscombe) came with a game-plan to try and slow us down, which I think most teams will try and do with us at home.
“The game then went a bit stale and it was back and forth, but we still had control of it.
“We went in 12-0 ahead at half-time and we didn’t need to make any adjustments as we knew when we had the ball, we were dangerous.
“A couple of decisions went against us and they swung the momentum of the game in their favour, but we held out when it got scrappy at the end and came away with five points and they got nothing, so we were happy.”
COUNTIES ONE WESTERN WEST
SALTASH finally got their first win of the season as they beat Torquay Athletic 31-28 away.
After heart-breaking one-score home defeats to Paignton and St Ives, the Ashes were delighted to see a tight match go in their favour.
The win has moved them up to eighth in the table after four games.
Torquay, who only lost twice at home last season, were well up for this game on their home turf and their handy backs moved the ball well to see them take the lead in the eighth minute with a converted try on their left wing courtesy of Harvey Dent.
But almost immediately momentum swung in the Ashes favour with three brilliant tries.
The first came from a classic winger’s break by James Moriarty, before hooker Finn Jones then burst through the middle from seven metres out to touch down and then prop Liall Honey scored a close-range effort.
Jack Pritchard converted then all to put the visitors 21-7 ahead.
However, Torquay did not sit back and two minutes before the break they pulled it back to 21-14 with a touch-down from Craig Withers.
The second half started well for Saltash with Moriarty going over for his second try just five minutes after the re-start to make it 28-14.
The next 20 minutes involved Saltash in great attacking form, but Torquay defended well and all the visitors had to show for their pressure during that period was a penalty by Pritchard to make it 31-14.
In the final 15 minutes the game started to shift in Torquay’s favour and they pulled it back to 31-28 with eight minutes to go courtesy of tries by Ben Sharples and Lewis Crocker.
The final stages were end-to-end, but the Ashes were able to hang on for five welcome away points.
The visiting forwards all impressed, while Henry Taylor, Ryan Cruikshanks, Pritchard and George Howlett particularly caught the eye at the Recreation Ground.
Devonport Services II are still waiting for their first win since their promotion after losing 45-14 at home to Kingsbridge.
Services II’s team has been ransacked due to injuries and unavailabilities in their first team.
They did have to pull a number of players in from their third XV and, although, they were competitive for much of the match, Kingsbridge pulled away in the final 15 minutes.
Services II did take the lead with a try by Billy Sutton, which Leighton Stark converted, but with Kingsbridge impressing at the scrums, they finally got going and they took a 21-7 lead at the break.
The visitors kicked a penalty after the interval to extend their advantage to 24-7.
Devonport did come back with a converted try by Brad Lumley.
The score stayed at 24-14 until the final seven minutes when Kingsbridge scored three late tries to claim their biggest win of the season and move up to fourth in the standings.
COUNTIES TWO DEVON
PLYMSTOCK Oaks had to dig deep to maintain their 100 per cent start to the season in Counties Two Devon.
After big home wins over Brixham II, South Molton and Honiton, Oaks had to battle hard for a 24-17 away at previously unbeaten Exmouth II.
Plymstock were missing the likes of Richard West, Toby Moss, Aiden Taylor, Tom Richards, Tyler Busfield and Al Thomas, but they still had enough to pick up a five-point victory in their first away trip of the campaign.
They went 19-0 up in the first half with tries by Harvey Searle, Harry Toghill and Brandon Bonser.
Exmouth II pulled one back after the break, but Oaks then went 24-5 ahead with another touch-down from scrum-half Toghill.
But decisions started to go against Oaks and Exmouth came back and made it a one-score game with eight minutes to go.
Oaks, though, were able to hang on to claim the full five points.
“We got the win and the bonus point, which is the main thing,” said coach Mike Lewis.
“Yeah, I know it was only just a win and a bonus point, but they all count and are all five points at the end of the day.”
He added: “We gave away too many penalties and let them back in the game.
“We defended for probably about 60 per cent of the game. When we did have possession we weren’t able to get through enough phases.
“But what we did do, is we battled really hard with boys stepping up and some playing out of position.”
OPMs secured their first away victory as they beat Withycombe 36-24 on Saturday.
The Old Boys had been hammered 80-7 at Raleigh Park last season, but they made a really good start there this time around.
They went 19-5 up before taking a 26-12 lead in at half-time.
Withycombe, still waiting for their first win of the campaign, did bring it back to 26-24 after the interval, but OPMs sealed the victory with two unconverted tries late on.
“For 65 minutes we were absolutely exceptional, especially in the first half,” said OPMs head coach Davy McGregor.
“But for the other 15 minutes we allowed them some soft tries and they came back.
“We can win a lot of games with the right mind set.
“Everyone is buying into a cultural change and it is lovely to see them really fighting for each other.
“We had two debutants again and one got the man of the match and the other wasn’t far behind.
“There is a really nice balance between the OPM stalwarts of the club and the young boys coming in.”
Tavistock had to settle for two bonus points as they were narrowly edged out 34-27 at home by Brixham II.
The Moorlanders had beaten Exeter Saracens the week before, but they just fell short against a Brixham side that scored three tries late on to secure the win.
Despite the defeat, Tavistock head coach Leigh Puttock was pleased with his side’s performance.
“It was a very close game,” he said.
“In a way, it’s nice that we are at that level where we are disappointed to have lost.
“We should have won it, but there were some really good performances and the structure was lovely.
“They (Brixham) are among the better teams we have played so far.
“We got two bonus points, but we are still disappointed.”
He added: “We’ve had a really good reaction to the poor performance and day at OPMs and we have really turned it around.
“There were some really big performances this week. Billy Sherman played his first senior game at prop and he did not look out of place, even though they were the best scrummaging team we have played against so far.
“Our line-out ticked over beautifully again and we are starting to develop little units of players who are really working well together.”
Tavistock’s tries came from Andrew Schuttkacker, Joel Shears, Freddie Fuller and Rob Pratt, with Fuller adding two conversions and a penalty.
Brixham II’s scores came from touch-downs by Cameron Wannell (2), Ashley Chart, Dan Gloyns and Jake Jones, with Alfie Greatorex adding two conversions.
COUNTIES THREE DEVON SOUTH & WEST
OLD Techs and Ivybridge II both maintained their 100 per cent records in Counties Three Devon South & West.
Techs had to come from behind to edge out Paignton II 33-30 away at Queen’s Park, while Ivybridge II hammered struggling Dartmouth 108-17 away.
Techs really had to show character to claim their full five points in south Devon.
They trailed 27-7 at half-time but hit back in the second period.
And with five minutes to go, player-coach Billy Evans, who switched from number eight to fly-half in the second half, completed his hat-trick to put them ahead and they were able to hang on for the victory.
As well as Evans’ three tries, there were also touch-downs for Adam Jarrod and Ollie Davey with Sammy Matts kicking four conversions.
“We scored to take the lead with five minutes to go and from the restart we just kept hold of the ball and didn’t give them it back,” said Techs chairman David Evans.
“At half-time, I thought we were going to lose as we have done quite a few times at Paignton.
We were miles behind, but we turned it around. We really dug it out.
“It is a tough place to get a win.
“It was a really good result. We could have easily come unstuck.”
Ivybridge II had a much more comfortable afternoon at Dartmouth, running in try after try on their way to 108 points.
“I’ve been told that it was a good game, even though the scoreline suggests otherwise,” said Ivybridge head coach Steve Atkinson.
“Our lads were as professional as they can be, so you can’t ask for much more than that.”
Tamar Saracens made it three wins out of four as they saw off city rivals Plymouth Argaum 30-0 at the Parkway.
In a game where there were a lot of turnovers, Sarries led 13-0 at the break, thanks to two quick-thinking tries by scrum-half Lewis Stuart and a penalty by Hayden Coles.
Ben Walker, Robbie Fowler and Dan Downey added further tries for Sarries in the opening 20 minutes of the second half, with Stuart adding a conversion after taking over the kicking duties from Coles.
The home side’s set piece was good and Stuart at scrum-half always looked lively.
Argaum, who were missing a number of key players, had struggled to threaten Sarries try line, but they did finally get their game going in the final 20 minutes, with the arrival of Dan Smith. However, despite their best efforts, they were unable to get over the whitewash.
Tamar Saracens coach Pete Lethbridge said: “There were a lot of knock-ons and I think we lacked a bit in the rucks as we got turned over a lot, so that’s something to work on.
“But it was a five-point win and a nil, which we will take.
“There’s still stuff to work on, but we say that every week.
“The boys really battled. Scrummaging went well and our line-outs were good
“It was a good team performance and, overall, we are really happy.
“It was a pleasing win.
“It’s nice to get one over on your local rivals. I know they had a lot missing, but we all have players missing.
“I’m pleased for the lads as from one to 20 worked hard.”
Argaum head coach Martyn Hendy, who ended up naming himself on the bench due to injuries and unavailabilities, said: “Tamar Saracens played very well.
“Unfortunately, whatever we tried they just seemed to beat us.
“They were the better team at the end of the day, but I don’t think the scoreline really reflects the game.
“We had a lot of penalties against us – I think maybe 20 penalties against us, which is just too many to win any game of rugby.”
He added: “That last quarter we seemed to come alive and started playing with a bit more passion and started to get our game together, but it was just too late at the end of the day.
“We just have to go back and rebuild. We’ve got Kingsbridge next and hopefully we will have a lot of players coming back.”
Plymstock Oaks II made it two wins out of two as they overcame Torquay Athletic II 37-26 in their first home match of the campaign.
Ed Coombs (2), Lewis Harris, Andy Porter and Jacob Chapman scored tries for Oaks II, with Tom Fitzpatrick adding three conversions and two penalties.
“They were 14-0 down, but came back,” said Oaks coach Mike Lewis. “It was good for our twos. It has just taken them a bit of time to gel.”
Plympton Victoria are still waiting for their first win of the season after they were beaten 56-3 away at Totnes.
Plym Vic had not been able to get a side out the previous week to visit Salcombe, but they did have a full team and some replacements against Totnes.
“There were some bits that looked good, but our fitness and maybe a bit of organisation maybe let us down,” said Plym Vic’s Chris Hunt.
“And their 10, Harry Laity, is educated and a good player and he controlled the game very well.
“We let them score a few unanswered tries and the game just got away from us.
“We had a couple of new players, and it is about getting that consistency.
“We played some good bits, but their scrum outclassed us, but we only had one true front-rower.”
Plym Vic’s only points came from a Chris Barratt penalty.
In Counties Three Cornwall, Saltash II were handed a home walkover by Falmouth II.
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