A much-changed Sidmouth Chiefs line-up went down to a 12-36 defeat in this Devon Senior Cup qualifying match at Crediton.

Sidmouth started brightly and the early pressure was rewarded with a trademark opportunist try by Sam Heathcote. He chased a long diagonal kick by Cole Monaghan to scoop up the ball and sprint over in the right corner. The try was unconverted.

Crediton took control in the middle of the half to score three unanswered tries. The right winger followed up his own kick to regain possession and sprint into the Sidmouth 22.

He was stopped short of the line but when the ball was recycled from the resulting ruck, it was moved swiftly along the line to an overlap for a converted try.

Following a series of rucks inside the 22, the left winger scored on the overlap. Try number three followed a lineout peel and a forward drove over from a ruck on the line.

The Chiefs rallied for the remainder of the half but could not add to their score and Crediton led 5-17 at halftime.

The Chiefs continued to match their opponents in the opening stages of the second half but the home side scored a bonus point fourth try when the inside centre rounded off a good handling move. The fly half added the conversion.

Another good handling move was finished off by the full back. With five minutes to go, a clean break by the inside centre created a second try for the left winger.

The Chiefs produced a spirited finish as forwards and back combined in a move which resulted in a penalty try for a deliberate knock on when the Chiefs had a clear overlap just short of the line.

On Saturday, the Chiefs travel to play Brixham in their final qualifying group match. Irrespective of the result, the Chiefs will play at home to Ivybridge in the Senior Shield semi-final on Saturday, April 15.

The Quins are at home to Ivybridge in the Devon 2nd XV Cup, kicking off at 3pm. On Good Friday, the Over 35s take on Ottery at Blackmore, kicking off at 3pm.