Topsham RFC Colts 3

Sidmouth RFC Colts 31

Sidmouth’s Colts continued their fine form in the East Devon Merit Table with a fine win over arch-rivals Topsham – although they sometimes made unnecessary hard work for themselves, writes Jack Colwill.

The game started tightly, with both sides plagued by marginal errors which disrupted the flow of the game.

The sides traded penalties before Luke Wells-Burr was put over in the corner after a fine pass from Jay Wright, kicker Ben Ward maintaining his impressive record with the conversion. Dan Rugg continued his impressive start to the season with another dynamic performance, and Jonny Youngman again dominated the line-out, racking up three steals in the first 10 minutes alone.

It remained 10-3 until half-time, with Sidmouth seemingly struggling against a committed Topsham defence.

After the break, Sidmouth started to move through the gears. Gavin Pearson was rampant in the loose, and George Locke had an impressive game in the centres, carrying the ball well. Sidmouth found a second try when James Dyer carved through the line superbly to score under the posts. While Sidmouth still struggled with errors, they managed to find a third try through a determined drive from Rugg, and an excellent line from Fin Cawthera allowed him to go over for the bonus-point try. All conversions were successful, from Ward, 2, and Wright.

This was an impressive win for a confident Colts side, against a side that was more organised and impressive than the scoreline might suggest.

However, this will give the Colts a good cushion going into the Devon Merit Table after Christmas, and their defence in particular will give them a lot of cause for optimism going forward.