Sidmouth Under-15s went down 27-12 in a contest that was much closer than the score line suggests.

Indeed, the difference between the teams on the day was undoubtedly the talented scrum half in the Crediton ranks.

The first half began with both sides making cautious starts, probing the other’s defence.

The Mid Devon side, with their powerful forward unit, tried to make ground, but they came up against some impressive defensive sets from the home side.

Amongst the key players in that defensive work were Harry Emmot, who stood out with tackle after tackle and also captain Alex Peacock, who was tenacious with his work at the breakdown.

It is to the credit of the Sidmouth defence that it took Crediton 21 minutes to finally break the resistance down when they worked a moved that saw a number of home defenders sucked into an area that freed up space out wide, space that the Mid Devon men exploited in clinical fashion to score the games first try.

Sidmouth, playing some of their best rugby of the season to date, hit back with real gusto and tempo.

They applied early pressure on the ball keeping it alive through phase after with some hugely impressive rucking and recycling.

Strong runs from Alberto and Jack Marchant brought the home side to within 10 yards of the try line when, showing some slick handling, the ball eventually arriving with full back Seb Stewart who joined the line from deep and at pace, showing great determination to beat the last man to score.

Cole Monaghan calmly added the extras to give the home side a narrow 7-5 lead at half-time.

After the break, Crediton started the stronger and managed to score first, wide on the left to get themselves back in the lead.

From the restart, the Crediton full-back used his pace strength to run the full length of the pitch and score. Sidmouth however, refused to give up and fought back courageously, continuing to look after possession and patiently gaining territory.

Strong runs from three quarters, Tom Bree, Tony Wilson and Jack Owers, helped work the ball deep into the Crediton half where, quick ball from half backs Archie Rowe and Cole Monaghan helped to stretch the opposition to ultimately lead to a well-worked try in the corner, scored by winger Nikita.

In the final minutes Crediton again through their full back, who in the end proved a key difference between the sides, managed to break the line and contribute to another couple of tries to complete the scoring.

This Sunday (March 19), Sidmouth host Withycombe at the Blackmore.