In an entertaining game played in difficult conditions, Sidmouth Quins were 34-20 winners at home to Crediton 2nds, a notable victory against opposition from the higher Merit Table demonstrating that they are worthy of promotion should they earn it at the end of the season, writes Terry O’Brien.
The opening salvoes did not bode well as Crediton went on the attack straight from the kick-off.
Pressure inside the Sidmouth 22 earned them a scrum near the line and they shoved the Sidmouth eight back unceremoniously for a pushover try scored by the number eight. The try was unconverted.
The Quins went on the attack from the restart and were eventually rewarded with the try of the match.
A handling move started on halfway took play up the left wing and, when it broke down inside the 22, the ball was move smoothly along the line to an overlap on the right.
Ollie Perez dived over in the corner to round things off with an unconverted try.
The Quins continued to control the game with the forwards putting the early setback behind them to control the set pieces with a solid scrum and Dan Ledger dominating the lineouts. They added two more tries from lineout catch-and-drive plays, both finished off by skipper Neil Barratt, with one conversion by Jake Watts.
Crediton came back in the closing stages of the half and deservedly closed the gap with a penalty kicked by the fly half. The Quins led 17-8 at half-time.
Despite making several changes to give all the squad a game, the Quins were well on top in the third quarter as they extended their lead with two more tries. A tap penalty move produced a try as the forwards drove over from close range for Jake Watts to add the conversion.
George Jarman capped an outstanding performance by driving over for the fourth try after another lineout maul had set up the position.
When Ben Salter was yellow carded for a high tackle in the middle of the half, Crediton staged a comeback.
From the resulting penalty, they took a quick tap to set up a forward drive to the line and over. The fly half kicked the conversion.
Then, when the visiting number eight scored from the base of a five-metre scrum, the deficit was reduced to just nine points with ten minutes to play.
However, it was Crediton’s turn to lose a player to the sin bin for a similar offence.
The Quins capitalised on their advantage with a try in the dying minutes as Ollie Perez broke on the blindside of a ruck inside the 22 to send Ben Salter over in the right corner to complete the scoring.
On Saturday (November 17), the Quins resume their Merit Table campaign with a trip to play Crediton 3rds.
Meanwhile the Blackmore Field will be the stage for a top-of-the-table clash between the Chiefs and Crediton. Both teams are currently undefeated. The kick-off is at 2.30pm.
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