Tiverton 2nds 35, Sidmouth 2nds 21 Sidmouth Quins fixture at Tiverton proved to be a war of attrition between the home side’s forwards and the visitors backline; unfortunately the former prevailed.

Tiverton opened the scoring after eight minutes of play when sustained pressure saw a 5-metre scrum result in a converted try.

The lead was extended with two further converted tries from short range drives. It was a case of limited scrum and lineout ball being used wisely by the Quins and early attempts saw centres Tristan Beavis and Ben Pratt test out their opposite numbers, but there was more success on bringing wingers into play and it was a run by Ben Dobson deep into the Tivvy half that created quick ball to be moved back along the line to Jamie Balloch who was taken out with a high tackle resulting in a penalty try being awarded and fly half Ben Ward added the extras.

It was again Dobson who fielding a loose kick was the catalyst for speedy ball to be moved along the line this time for Ben Pratt to go over and ward again converted.

Injuries to prop Jack Colwill and hooker Tom Reed forced a reshuffle in the pack and the game moved to uncontested scrums.

On the stroke of half time the Mid Devon side scored another converted try to take a 28-14 lead into the break.

Long periods of the second half saw player congested into the middle third of the pitch. Play was disrupted on 20 minutes when an injury on the next door pitch saw the 1st XI game moved onto the 2nd pitch, forcing the 2nds game onto a small pitch over the road!

It took both sides time to adjust to their new surroundings and the hosts got the all important next score, a converted try, to effectively kill off the game.

The Quins finished strongly with Ben Dobson being rewarded after some good runs with a try under the posts and Ward’s trusty boot added the extras. The forwards worked hard all game with Ryan Davies and Dan Rugg being the pick of bunch, backed up by number-eight James Salter. Dan Ledger, coming on at half-time, added to the forward strength in the loose whilst Harry Shayler and Jamie Balloch, two of last year’s colts, both looked good with the ball, adjusting well to the senior game.

Tomorrow Quins host Topsham 1st XV in a friendly at Blackmore (3pm).