Sidmouth Quins notched up their first win of the season, and did so in style, beating Brixham 2nds 32-12, writes Terry O’Brien.

The forwards had a good platform in the scrum, and James Salter and Jack Sowden ensure a good supply of possession from the lineouts. Cameron Grainger at fly half kept his side going forward, while Giles Dixon and Jeremy Massey-Birch made a good combination in the centre.

The game started in heavy rain and finished in bright autumn sunshine. Both sides dealt well with the difficult conditions in the first half and played with ambition. The Quins had the first scoring opportunity, when they drove a lineout maul to the line but a knock on ended the move.

Brixham were soon pressing at the other end but they conceeded a penalty in their attemp to win a ruck on the Sidmouth line. The Quins cleared upfield and then James Salter and Jeremy Massey-Birch combined in a move into the Brixham 22.

Johnny Hamill crossed the Brixham line but was unable to touch down. From the resulting five metre scrum, Cameron Grainger broke down the blindside to score in the corner and added the conversion to his own try.

Brixham replied with a try by their speedy right winger, when he followed up a diagonal kick by the fly half. The conversion was unsuccessful making the score 7-5 at half-time.

Sidmouth started the second half strongly and soon found themselves with an extra player, when the Brixham fly half was sent to the sin bin. They took advantage to increase their lead. Haydon Down peeled off a driving maul to dive over for an unconverted try.

The Quins were soon back on the attack and quick recycling of the ball through several phases created an overlap, which was exploited by Jeremy Massey-Birch for another unconverted try.

Despite still being a man down, Brixham closed the gap, when they turned over possession inside the Sidmouth 22 and the hooker found a gap in the defence to slip through and score a converted try.

Inspired by the sun on their backs, the Quins dominated the closing stages. A diagonnal kick by Dan Retter found Johnny Hamill in space on the left. He was tackled just short of the line but Jeremy Massey-Birch was on hand to score his second try. Minutes later Dan Retter dummied his way over following a ruck inside the opposing 22. He added the conversion and a penalty in the final minute to complete the scoring.

On Saturday the Chiefs resume their league campaign with a visit to Cullompton.

Meanwhile, the Quins are back on the Blackmore Field, where they entertain Cullompton 2nds. The kick off is at 3pm.

The Colts play Cullompton Colts at Sidford, also kicking off at 3pm.