Sidmouth continued their rich vein of form at Newton Abbot in unaccustomed dry conditions in a ten-try victory, writes Terry O’Brien.

In the fifth minute Cameron Grainger latched on to a loose ball from a lineout near the opposition line to dummy his way over for the opening score. Jason Allen added the first of seven conversions.

Midway through the half Tom Hodge scored twice in quick succession. Both came from quick tap penalties near the Newton Abbot line. When a slick move by the backs took play deep into the opposing 22, Cameron Grainger was on hand to take the scoring pass.

Following the restart, the Chiefs found themselves defending and did well to repel two attempted lineout mauls. When they eventually turned over possession, good handling sent Rory O’Brien sprinting to halfway where he handed over to Cian Warren, who outpaced the cover to score in the corner. Jason Allen converted from wide out.

Newton Abbot eventually opened their account in first half injury time when they advanced through several phases to force their way over the line from the base of a ruck. The conversion made the half-time score 7-33.

The Chiefs opened the second half with two tries from Dan Armstrong and Dan Rugg in the opening four minutes.

Newton Abbot scored an excellent try but Rob Griffin was next on the Sidmouth scoreboard with a fine individual try as he beat three men in a run from the 22-metre line to bring up the half century. Midway through the half, Sam Heathcote finished off a fine handling move.

In the final quarter, the Chiefs lost players to yellow cards and Newton Abbot capitalised with two tries from lineout catch-and-drive plays. In between, Rory O’Brien finished off a break by Cian Warren. Newton Abbot 26 Sidmouth 64.