A COMBINATION of poor weather and injuries had left Okehampton without a match for six weeks but any worries of rustiness were unfounded as they started their first match of the year with a bang, writes Chris Mallinson.

Okey controlled the match from the kick-off, using the full width of the pitch to stretch the Teignmouth defence from wing to wing as they probed for an opening.

A long-range galloping run from Wilf wiped out multiple defenders before Charlie took up the charge on an angled run deep into the 22, popping the ball to Amos who cut back inside to score under the posts.

Both sides traded possession via rucks and counter-rucks but Okey maintained pressure to keep the home side on the back foot. Euan showed great athleticism to charge down an attempted clearance kick, scooping up the bouncing ball one-handed and out-pacing the defence to score under the posts before converting his own try for the full seven points.

Teignmouth slowly started to claw their way back into the game with a sustained period of possession but Okey’s defensive line held up admirably. Big, dominant hits from Harry and Euan forcefully shut the door on any attempted line breaks and Okey eventually overturned the ball after powerful work in the ruck from Dylan.

Amos set off on a trademark mazy run, bamboozling any tacklers before shipping the ball out wide to Joe, whose powerful run took play over the opposition 10-yard line. With Teignmouth back-pedalling furiously, Ciaran finished off the attack unfurling a delightful sidestep before rounding the fullback to score a fine try. Teignmouth hit back on the stroke of half-time to score in the corner from a well taken lineout.

Teignmouth started the second half with more tempo and forced their way over for a second try. Okey showed great composure to stick to their gameplan with Freddie and Zac continuing to punch holes in the defence while leaving the backs to cause havoc in the broken play.

JJ and Jacob enjoyed making a nuisance of themselves, flying around the pitch and disrupting Teignmouth’s efforts to put any meaningful phases together.

A strong line break from Ryley burst into the 22 before he was taken out with a big double tackle which sadly saw him go off injured. From the restart, Wilf employed the hand-off to good effect as he ran over defenders, shipping the ball down the line via Harry and Amos, who found Ciaran running a sublime line from deep to cut inside to score his second try. Another fine kick from Euan sealed the conversion and put Okey clear on the scoreboard.

Teignmouth threatened to get back into the match with some good pressure until an excellent strike against the head from Jacob playing as replacement hooker won the ball back for Okey. Stanley fizzed the ball out to Louis on the wing who was very unlucky to have a good diving effort ruled out as a double movement.

From the resultant penalty, Teignmouth put in a steepling clearance kick only for it to be expertly taken by Ciaran, who powered it straight back into contact and released Louis, who was not to be denied a second time as he weaved through traffic to score the final try.

A great team performance to secure an important away win.