Devon two

Buckfastleigh 6

North Tawton 11

THE race for the Devon Two League Title has swung back in North Tawton’s favour after their hard-fought win over championship rivals Buckfastleigh.

The top-of-the-table clash was much anticipated after the first attempt at the tie was abandoned due to injury.

Both teams were keen to get back to winning ways after losses last week, and despite the cold weather the playing surface looked like it would lend to a good match.

With a no nonsense referee blowing the whistle to get proceedings underway, the home team played down the slope in the first half.

Buckfastleigh missed an early penalty and it wasn’t long before North Tawton got their first points of the game with a well taken penalty from the boot of James Bowden.

After the first score the game became end-to-end, with neither side showing any fear in throwing the ball around.

The home side spent more time with the ball in hand in the North Tawton half but rarely threatened a score and it was the visitors who looked more dangerous in possession.

This was borne out with the best move of the match, with a superbly worked try involving the usual suspects in Goss, Mathis and Dennis, all finished off very well by Matt Baker.

The conversion was missed to leave the score 0-8 to the visitors.

Buckfastleigh were not willing to give up top spot in the league without a fight and back they came down the hill, looking to get on the scoreboard. Their aggressive play to try and get the next score saw them pin North Tawton in their own 22 for uncomfortable periods, but the visitors’ defence held out until half time to keep the score 0-8.

It was not long into the second half that Buckfastleigh were awarded a penalty, which they scored to put Tawton nerves on edge. Memories of the reverse fixture, which saw Buckfastleigh snatch victory with a converted try, could easily have unsettled North Tawton, but the visitors held their nerve, playing with belief and hard work.

A long range penalty from Craig Dennis gave North Tawton some breathing space, with the score now 3-11.

With five minutes left on the clock, Buckfastleigh scored a straightforward penalty to make the score 6-11.

A mistake from the hosts at the restart led to a penalty for North Tawton, who elected to use up the clock and take almost the full minute to take the shot.

The kick did not go dead and it left one last chance for Buckfastleigh to attack, but with the Tawts defence winning the ball back and able to hoof it into touch, the victory that put North Tawton on the top of the table was assured.