Club News Archive (2010)...

A large crowd was at Twomeads as the re-arranged Boxing Day clash between the two local rivals started at a ferocious pace.

Early into the game Kingsbridge’s attempts to break down the Salcombe defence were foiled by some great tackling. Rupert Bevan in the centre and Flanker Tom Summerton led the way with some smart defence. The wet and muddy conditions meant that both teams struggled to piece together several phases of play. Kingsbridge were awarded a 5 metre attacking scrum after good work from the midfield pair of Ben Newman and Ben Glover. Number 8 Jack Cope picked up the ball from the back of the scrum and raced over the line for the opening score. Leading 5-0, the home side started to exert their own pressure much to the delight of the vocal home support.

The Salcombe pack took control of the game and inched their way up the field. With the line-out and catch and drive working well Salcombe went very close to scoring their own try but were held up over the line. Still the home side kept coming and some ill-discipline by the visitors led to a penalty that was kicked by fly-half Chris Drew to leave the Crabs 3-5 down at half time.

With the crowd sensing a real upset Kingsbridge pulled together at half time and came out firing. However it was Salcombe who had the field position early on and the turning point came when Kingsbridge winger Matt Gibbons caught an interception and raced 50 metres down field only to be caught by Salcombe full-back Jon Squire. With the momentum, the Blues put together some phases of play and sent Jack Cope over in the corner for his second of the game. Salcombe still thought they could get a result and worked tirelessly at every breakdown to compete for the ball.

Flanker Ian Smerdon capped a great game for the home side with his work turning over the ball. During the final twenty minutes it was clear to see that the home side’s heroic efforts taking their toll as players starting tiring. Kingsbridge finally showed why they play two divisions higher than their hosts by scoring three late scores. Two great backline moves saw Ben Glover closely followed by wing replacement Matt Dayment score Try’s both converted by Newman. Right on the stroke of full time Kingsbridge captain Neil Darke completed the scoring close to the line to round off a strong second half performance.

Salcombe can take great heart and pride from the way they took on their visitors head on and for large parts of the match as they fronted up and matched them every way. The Crabs will aim to take this performance into the second half of the league campaign as they look to get back into the play-off race.

Salcombe won and won well but a drop in the level of concentration as the game entered the final quarter almost cost Salcombe dear. Indeed had the match lasted another 30 seconds then it was highly likely that South Molton would have got their third try and taken the points. As it was their big no6 was held up over the line and that was the last play of the afternoon.

The Crabs had a few injury problems in the pack and the reliable Chris Drew was unavailable. This resulted in a slightly unusual format up front and a league debut at no10 for young Lee Clarke but after 20 minutes shaking down when they were down by a penalty Salcombe raced into a 19-3 lead by half time and soon after the break this was extended to 24-3. Several Crabs scoring opportunities went begging as players got selfish and tried to go alone when a pass would have let in an unmarked colleague for an easy score.

Salcombe's first try came when Adrian Masters standing in for an injured Chris Winzer at loose head and packing down alongside his son Jack at hooker won the ball in a ruck. The ball passed through several pairs of hands before Ian Smerdon at openside ran clear for 30 yards and with the cover converging he unselfishly passed to centre Liam Wills who went over for the try close to touch. Clarke narrowly failed with the conversion. The next came quickly when the Crab's pack won posession on halfway and Tom Summerton making a welcome return at second row broke through with a bullocking run to clear the opposition out of the way and then put in a 50 yard sprint to the line. Clarke converted. The last try of the half came when a defensive kick from South Molton was badly skewed as the Crab's put on the pressure. The ball hit a Salcombe player but unusually went backwards and an alert Wills picked it up to score close to the posts and again Clarke converted to bring up the 19-3 halftime score.

Immediately after the turn round Salcombe had a long period of total domination but scoring opportunities were frittered away until the ball went loose in the visitors 22 and found its way to Mark Parnowski on the wing who zipped past the cover to score close to the touchline. Clarke missed the conversion. As the game entered the final 20 minutes South Molton kicked a penalty to get to 24-6 down but then changing their gameplan to simply rumbling ahead with their big pack they scored two well worked converted tries and we entered the last four minutes of the game with the visitors dominant. Somehow Salcombe survived for the victory and got the bonus point for scoring 4 tries.

The team played well as a whole and the pack had a hard time of it against a bigger outfit but Salcombe's greater mobility gave them the edge. In the absence of Sean Baker and Alan Steer the makeshift second row of Stuart Winzer and Summerton did well demonstrating their backrow speed and agility and the return of Jamie Laban for his first full game ensured 50/50 posession at the lineout. In the backs Lee Clarke did well after a nervous start when he took some wrong options but as he settled he grew in stature with some assured kicking. Rupert Bevan at centre constantly caused South Molton concern and the back three played with assurance.

Lastly a final mention again for “Dad” Masters who showed that he hadn't lost it and provided a much needed calm wise old head when Salcombe faced the panic strewn last 4 minutes of the match.Despite being outweighed Salcombe took two against the head courtesy of hooker Jack Masters although “Dad” claimed that they had nothing to do with Jack but were all his own work!

Now for the 1s a break until Boxing Day when Salcombe entertain Kingsbridge in the highlight of the year with ko at 2:30. For visiting supporters the Park and Ride will be open and you will need to walk from there. The 2s play Tiverton 3s away next Saturday ko 2:30.

WESSEX 36 SALCOMBE 14

The Crabs came up against the strongest outfit yet in this league with a big mobile pack and fast skillful backs. Relying considerably on university students Wessex are a formidable side at home in term time and if they can keep this side together they surely will be challenging for promotion at the end of the season.
Salcombe did not help themselves by not turning up for the first 15 minutes and as a result found themselves 17-0 down before they started to compete. Once they found that they could get the ball, the forwards started to put pressure on Wessex and and gain ground and this resulted in the first try for Salcombe. Working their way patiently forward in no less than 6 phases the ball came to Richie Collins playing at blindside who passed to Chris Drew. Drew, celebrating the birth of his daughter two days before, controlled the whole game expertly and seeing an opportunity on the narrow side he made a lot of ground before finding Rupert Bevan at outside centre. Bevan still had to use all his speed to evade the swiftly converging cover and went over wide out for the try. The reliable Drew then converted.
Salcombe had gone to Wessex short of several regular backs and coach Mark Lidstone had to put himself at fullback. Lidstone had already shown that age was no problem placing himself intelligently for the high ball and kicking well. He now showed what he could do in attack when a well won ball was recycled quickly. Drew found Bevan who in turn passed to Mark Parnowski on the wing. When he was closed down Parnowski passed neatly back to Bevan who found Lidstone showing a lively turn of pace outside him to enable the fullback to score the try. Drew converted to bring the score to 14-17 to Wessex with half an hour gone and the smiles of the Wessex supporters were no longer quite so wide as before.
Unfortunately that was about it from a Salcombe point of view. Wessex tightened up their game and especially down their right flank where both Salcombe's tries had been scored and got another converted try before half time and two more tries in the second half, one converted. Salcombe never gave up competing for the ball and played well in flashes. Lidstone was having the game of his life tackling, yes I do mean tackling, and catching everything that came his way as well as showing some lovely touches jinking round the oncoming Wessex players and disposing of the ball beautifully. Drew was calm and authoritative at stand off making the most of what ball he got and earned high praise from the Wessex coach. Salcombe can console themselves that everyone played well after the first 15 minutes but they were up against a better side on the day.
Next week the 1s have a week off but the 2s will entertain Plympton Victoria at home ko 2.30.
 

Salcombe 42 New Cross 8

This was a good win for Salcombe, the more so because it followed the Vice President's lunch and was witnessed by a bigger crowd than usual. However for the first 5 minutes it looked as if this was going to be a horror story for the Crabs as the visitors ran up an 8-0 lead. Their scoring started with a penalty for an absurd mistake by Salcombe, quickly followed up by a dropped ball in midfield which the New Cross centre hacked on and then won the race to the touchdown. Fortunately the normally very reliable New Cross kicker missed the conversion and also missed yet another penalty in this 5 minute spell.
The Crabs needed to wake up and the collective jolt to the system came from Salcombe fullback Simon Keen who followed up his clearance kick at speed and flattened the hefty New Cross prop who caught the ball. From the resultant breakdown Salcombe won the ball and moving it at speed Liam Wills intelligently changed the entire direction of the attack to enable Rupert Bevan and Oli Masters to make 50 yards up the left wing before Masters gave the scoring pass to Keen to enable him to finish off the movement he had started.The difficult conversion narrowly failed. It is sad to say that Keen playing one of his best matches for Salcombe had to come off 20 minutes into the second half after a collision, and at the time of writing is still in Derriford following an emergency operation to remedy a burst blood vessel in his leg. There was a real threat that at one stage he might lose his leg. We all wish him well for a speedy recovery.
Anxious to make up for their poor start Salcombe now scored 3 more tries in quick succession to earn the bonus point within 25 minutes of the kick-off. The first came from Oli Masters when a Wills tackle dislodged the ball and Chris Drew was able to feed the winger who ran strongly to score. Drew converted. Then following good posession by the pack centre Bevan made a great break before passing to Masters for his second of the afternoon. Lastly Darren Hopkins fielded a kick fom New Cross and then scored a fine try from 60 yards skinning his winger for pace and cutting inside through the cover for the line. Both conversions failed but Salcombe were now 22-8 ahead and with the bonus point. Just before half time Drew kicked a penalty and the sides turned round with the Crabs 25-8 up.
At half time coach Mark Lidstone as a precaution took off openside Ian Smerdon who had been having a good match but who was carrying a shoulder problem and replaced him with Richie Collins. Collins quickly made his mark by intercepting a New Cross pass and slipping the ball to Bevan. When he was stopped after a good run he found blindside flanker James Palmer as a linkman who gave the excellent Wills the scoring pass with Drew adding the conversion.The game then entered a quieter phase from a Salcombe point of view as New Cross rallied and some of Salcombe's players tried too hard to get their names on the scorecard thus wasting posession. Eventually though the weight of posession coming from the superb Salcombe pack cracked the visitor's defence and from a ruck close to the line Scrum half Luke Cole went over for an unconverted try. Lastly Hopkins, by now at fullback in place of Keen, fielded a kick ,made ground and passed to Masters. The winger ran hard and passed inside to no8 Kevin Wreyford who when tackled passed back to Masters for his hat trick and Salcombe's seventh of the afternoon to bring the final score to 42-8.
After 2 league defeats in a row this was a welcome bounce back by Salcombe, all the more so because the backs did all the scoring after a lean patch for them without a try to their credit.From a Salcombe standpoint the pleasure at the win is somewhat diminished by the injuries to Keen and Palmer. The latter broke his finger in mysterious circumstances but it is not clear that it was entirely accidental! Next week both the 1s and 2s are away at Wessex in the league and merit table respectively with ko at 2.30.
 

Salcombe played well in both games and held their own all the way.

Salcombe came from 2 try's behind with last minute scoring from Jack to draw the match. Try scorers for the game were Daisy 2, Reuben 2 and Jack 2.

This was a great team perfomance and great tagging from everyone.

Try scorers were Lucas 2, Chloe, Tilly, Ella, Freya, Adam and Jack all one each.

From the outset of the game it was obvious the visitors thought they would be in for an easy time, however their complacency was short lived with Salcombe making inroads into their 22 from the kick off. Both sides traded kicks deep into the others half and Salcombe were far more aggressive at following these up, this determination paid off with BaBas conceding an early penalty which was duly kicked through the posts by fly half Lee Clarke.

The Salcombe forwards continued to dominate in the loose with number 8 Tom Summerton excelling in taking the ball and on pushing the opposition back ably assisted by back row pairing of Martin Gautier and Stewart Cooper. Having tied up the BaBas forwards, scrum half Marcus Bromwich managed to get the ball away to the backs passing through centres Rich Winzer and Pete Bastin setting up Mark Parnowski to crash over the line and score in the corner, Clarke narrowly missing the conversion.

From the re-start Salcombe did not have things all their way and an error of defensive judgement allowing the visitors to break away and score a try which they converted. For Salcombe this was a wake up call and the defence tightened up with full back Alex Sproson keeping order at the back. Unfortunately, this tightened defence cost Salcombe with a penalty being awarded against them for holding on to the ball for too long, the visitors took advantage kicking this for 3 points.

Before the first half ended excellent rumbling from the Salcombe forwards pushed the ball within metres of the Barbarians line giving flanker Gautier the well deserved opportunity to touch down, Clarke then adding the extras. The half time score favouring the home side 15 points to 10.

The second half gave Salcombe the opportunity to fully utilise their replacements with the welcome return this season in the front row of Symon Cater and at scrum half Jon Hawtin. The Barbarians however, were not going to go down without a fight and the second half proved evenly matched with neither team really getting the upper hand in open play. Again with the Salcombe forwards domination an opening was made for James Cooper at 2nd row to make his contribution to the scoreboard touching down for Salcombes 3rd try. Leaving the final score of the match at 20:10.

Salcombe should be pleased with this win against a tough opposition side who gave no quarter. It was pleasing to see players returning to the Salcombe squad this season after injury and unavailability, strengthening the depth of players available to the Club going forward. Without a doubt the “men of the match” were Tom Sommerton and James Cooper who both showed their determination in thwarting the Barbarians attacks and pushing Salcombe forward.

Salcombe left Bull Point thinking about what could and possibly should have been a win. The Crabs did not let the runaway league leaders put their authority on the game at any stage and it was only down to poor discipline by the away team that led to their downfall.

Playing into another strong wind Salcombe were immediately put on the defensive. However the Barbarians could not find a way through the defence with the Salcombe pack holding their own comfortably up front and the Salcombe back three of Simon Keen, Oli Masters and Darren Hopkins dealing with any balls over the top well. Mid way through the first period the home side did take the lead with a penalty after Salcombe had been deemed to be offside in midfield. The first of many penalty infringements against the away side during the game.

Plymouth stepped up a gear and they were soon further ahead when they crossed for their only try of the game in the corner. Trailing 8-0 Salcombe rallied and started to put their hosts on the back foot. The front row of Richie Rich, Kevin Wreyford and Chris Winzer had the home teams scrum in all sorts of problems. With Salcombe’s pressure came a penalty that Chris Drew struck against the uprights. Scrum half Luke Cole was first to the rebounding ball but a deliberate trip by the opposition stopped Cole from scoring his first try of the season. With a penalty try awarded and a simple conversion Salcombe found themselves right back in the game trailing 8-7. With five minutes remaining in the first half the Crabs would have been happy to go into the break only one point down but again they gave away a further needless penalty that the home side too full advantage over to extend the lead. With the wind to their backs the second half game plan was simple and executed well by Salcombe. Although for all their hard work getting down the field, poor discipline ensured the Baa-Baas could clear their lines. Drew struck a well taken penalty for the Crabs to bring the gap down to a point again. This is when Salcombe should have taken the game to their hosts and finish them off but it never really came. The afternoon’s frustration was complete when the Barbarians kicked another penalty of their own to win 14-10.

Salcombe must learn to maintain their discipline and learn how to interpret referee decisions or they will have further frustrating afternoons this season. Barbarians will only be thinking how fortunate they were to scrape past their visitors.
 

Despite Salcombe travelling away with a full contingent, quite a few players had to play out of their normal positions, in particular a lack of second row locks meant that the Salcombe pack was somewhat lighter than it could have been. This was proved in the first few minutes of the game with the very much heavier Plymstock pack pushing Salcombe off the ball at the first scrummage, and whilst the forwards were caught going back Plymstock took advantage passing the ball to a formidable back line allowing them the first points of the day. By half time the weight advantage had allowed the home to get ahead by 14 points.

Salcombe did not allow Plymstock to have the game all their way, once Salcombe had possession they made good ground into the Plymstock 22 only missing out scoring from some poor ball handling at the last. The weather deteriorated during the 2nd half with torrential rain, heavy wind and the visitors playing uphill making the ball an elusive and slippery item. Salcombe did not let their heads drop and continued to battle the elements and the opposition.

With players out of normal positions credit must go to stand in 2nd rows Stewart Cooper, Sam Long and Jim Winzer who did sterling work in trying to hold the Salcombe scrum in place, duly helped with the back row of Martin Gautier, James Cooper, Ollie Yeoward and Darren Clarke. Despite the size of the of the Plymstock backs the Salcombe defence held off what could have been a complete rout and for their tenacious tackling men of the match were Rich Winzer and Marcus Bromwich.

The score line at the end of the game really did not reflect the effort and gamesmanship of the Salcombe team during the match and they can take this forward and build on it for the next game this Saturday at home against Plymouth Barbarians kick off 3pm.

Salcombe’s unbeaten start to the league campaign came to a halt on Saturday when the powerful Plymouth side visited Twomeads.

Straight from the kick-off and playing into the strong wind Salcombe found themselves under the cosh from the visitors. The pressure on the home side told as they conceded a cheap three points from an infringement at the back of a scrum. Almost immediately Salcombe were pegged back inside their own half and OPO’s exploited a gap in the defence to send over their pacey winger for a score that was converted. At 10-0 down a few home fans may have been thinking the floodgates could open but Salcombe showed their resilience in grinding down the oppositions’ attacks. Captain Darren Hopkins made a couple of try saving tackles to stop the opposition flyer from scoring more in the game. Soon the tide started to change and the Salcombe pack suddenly found their feet. Chris and Stuart Winzer began to make ground carrying the ball as the forwards started to set a platform for the backs. After some good link up play Salcombe were rewarded with a penalty chance of their own which Chris Drew slotted over to give the Crabs some hope.

At the half time turnaround and now having the strong wind behind their backs the game plan was to pin back the visitors inside their own half. However Salcombe never really gained the field position they were after when a couple of tactical kicks went out on the full. Playing catch up rugby Salcombe lost their rhythm and shape. Coupled with the terrific tackling the visiting team continued to make time was running out for the Crabs. OPO’s cranked up the gears and went on the attack again. Some great tackling in the midfield by Tyson Collins and Turkish Wills held the opposition backs at bay. The pressure the visitors were putting on the home side paid off when they crossed over from close range after a quickly tapped penalty. A further 3 points were added for another needless given away penalty. Salcombe finally found field position in the closing stages of the game and had a long spell of pressure close to the line.

Powerful runners James Palmer and Jez Foster went close to crossing for the home side but it wasn’t to be after more great defending from the visiting team who after this performance have been tipped for promotion candidates. Another tough test faces the Crabs tomorrow as they face a daunting trip to Devon One runaway leaders Plymouth Barbarians at Bullpoint. Salcombe will hope to come out of the blocks sharper at the start of the game and kick more intelligently when using the elements.

Following the previous weeks cancelled fixture with Ivybridge III, who were unable to field a side, the Salcombe team were keen to play Topsham who usually provide a strong opposition team. This proved to be the case again and for the vast majority of the game with both teams fairly evenly matched. Salcombe initially showed their lack of competitive game time this season with players not entirely comfortable and confident, this allowed Topsham the chink they needed in the Salcombe defence and pushed over for the first try of the game which they converted. Salcombe responded within minutes with James Cooper picking up the ball, charging through Topsham’s forwards from half way to the twenty two where he then managed to offload the ball to number 8 Darren Clarke who completed the attack scoring a try, this was duly converted, by son Lee Clarke. Salcombe managed to hold Topsham from the re-start and for long periods neither team really had the upper hand. Salcombe’s pack piled on the pressure at the rucks ensuring Topsham weren’t given clean ball for their back line to work with. Going into half time Topsham sneaked a ball out wide again breaching the Salcombe defence scoring their final try and conversion of the game, leaving Salcombe trailing by 7 points.

The second half saw the match degenerate somewhat with the Topsham players becoming frustrated by Salcombe’s continual attack on their defence, not helped by some interesting refereeing decisions. Inevitably, this lead to some indiscipline from Topsham and a fracas started, the referee having resumed control promptly sin binned a player from each side, Salcombe’s head coach Mark Lidstone paying the price. During the 10 minute sin bin period, Salcombe pushed hard against Topsham resulting in a breakaway try coming from centre Darren Hopkins. Within minutes of the re-start Salcombe were once again in charge and Ollie Masters showed off his sprinting abilities with a dash to the Topsham twenty two, passing the ball quickly to Lee Clarke who touched down, Clarke then converted his own try.

Special mention must go to the younger players, Rich Winzer, Grant Baker and Marcus Bromwich, who performed well against the heavier Topsham players, Bromwich making a considerable mark at Scrum Half. Simon Keen at Full Back had a good game particularly tidying up loose ball in the Salcombe half. All in all a very creditable performance from Salcombe against a strong side which hopefully can be capitalised upon and keep Salcombe in the top of their Merit Table league where they are currently lying 2nd.

TAMAR SARACENS 10 SALCOMBE 16

Salcombe can thank the reliable boot of Chris Drew for this win because it was his three penalties and a conversion that gave the Crabs a win that often looked unlikely and in the end was a trifle lucky. The strong wind was a major factor for both sides and it was Salcombe who made best use of it with the boot which was just as well because with the ball in hand they looked anything but dangerous.
Saracens had a big pack and playing with the wind in the first half they soon set up camp in Salcombe's half. Salcombe did not help themselves giving away five penalties in the first ten minutes and although the count dropped thereafter, they still infringed far too often and in situations where nothing much was at stake. Right on the quarter hour of the game Saracens got their reward for their pressure with a penalty and following the kick off Salcombe on their first excursion into their opponent's half made a mess of Saracens receipt of the ball. Some illegal scrambling for the ball by Saracens gave Drew his first penalty well taken into the teeth of the wind to even the scores.
For the rest of the half Saracens kept up the pressure and with the Salcombe pack backpedalling in the set and giving away a stream of penalties Salcombe were lucky that Saracens managed only one converted try to bring the score to 10-3 to the home side at half time.
Turning round with the wind in the second half Salcombe announced their intentions by hoofing the ball well into Saracens territory and letting their speedy backs follow up to put pressure on the home side's defence. Five minutes into the half this ploy paid off and securing the ball Salcombe's backs showed what they are capable of with a smooth passage of passing to Darren Hopkins on the wing who was bundled into touch close to the line. Following the line out Saracens infringed several times and eventually Ian Smerdon, playing at open side, grounded the ball on the post to give Drew an easy conversion and to tie the scores.
For the next ten minutes the game fluctuated but with the Crab's pack under constant pressure the result looked far from certain. At this point Jez Foster came on at tight head and right away the scrum was far more solid with Salcombe not only securing their own ball comfortably but pushing the Tamar scrum back several times. This encouraged the Crabs who now started to look more comfortable with the ball and with Smerdon, Chris and Stuart Winzer making some effective carries and Alan Steer putting in some crashing tackles Salcombe forced two penalties for Drew to put over, the first a great effort from wide out. At 16-10 to the Crabs the game was far from certain but Salcombe held out for the last 10 minutes to secure the win.
So Salcombe now have three wins out of three in the league but as it turns out all three have been against the bottom three teams and sterner tests await. The Crabs know that they have to play much better than this if they are to progress and they have it in them to do so. Next week is a rest week for the 1s but the 2s are away at Topsham K.O 3.0 pm.
 

SALCOMBE 19 BRIXHAM 2s 13

Brixham brought a big fit looking side and a number of the Crabs supporters thought that the home side was in for a tough outing. They needn't have worried as Salcombe soon demonstrated their own physicality with the backs putting in some crunching tackles and the forwards out muscleing their bigger oponents to provide a stream of posession.
Thus Salcombe created constant pressure on the Brixham line and the excellent Luke Cole and Dominic Taylor at scrum half and no6 respectively were almost over the line but were held up or tackled just short. However the Crabs got their reward after 15 minutes when the pack kept their cool and put together a whole series of pick and go's and a combination of Chris Winzer, Sean Baker and Kevin Wreyford crashed over wide out for the try with Wreyford coming up smiling as the thoroughly deserving try scorer. The conversion failed but more seriously Baker looked as if he had broken his collar bone and went off. Happily it proved only to be badly bruised but he took no further part in the match. This allowed new signing James Palmer to comeon in his place to gain his first experience of Salcombe 1st team rugby. Palmer, a chunky player of the type the Crabs need to maintain a challenge in the league, immediately impressed with some aggressive carries and hard tackles and together with Alan Steer having possibly his best game in a Salcombe shirt, they formed an extremely effective engine room at 2nd row.
Brixham now put together their best spell of the match and forced Salcombe into some pretty desperate defence, not all of it entirely legal but all of it very physical, resulting in a string of penalties to the visitors. On the half hour one went over to make the score 5-3 to Salcombe where it remained for the rest of the half.
Immediately on the resumption Brixham slotted another penalty but Salcombe quickly restored the lead when good ball enabled the backs to flow with Rupert Bevan at full back finally linking with the ever present Stuart Winzer who barged over for the try. Chris Drew then put over a difficult conversion to make the score 12-6. The Crabs now were in full flow as Brixham visibly wilted, not helped by the stream of knocks they took, and as the Salcombe front row of Chris Winzer, Wreyford and Richie Fenton totally dominated their bigger opposite numbers the scrums went well. Shoving Brixham back off their own ball the pack created the chance for the alert Cole to grab the ball and feed it to Taylor for a good try which again Drew coverted to bring the score to19-6.
But Brixham weren't finished and sensing that unless they upped their game they could be on the end of a serious beating, they put together some good moves and asisted by some sloppy Salcombe tackling as the Crabs relaxed, they went over under the posts for the converted try with time on the clock. Thankfully Salcombe reasserted themselves and the game finished with no further score.
This was a great win for the Crabs against a big side who have the reputation for physicality. That for the third time this season so far they have taken on bigger sides and come out on top is a matter of great credit to the players and coaches Mark Lidstone and Neil Elliott. In the backs the first up tackling of centres Liam Wills and Richie Collins and Ollie Masters when he came on as replacement for Wills, destroyed many Brixham attacks. On the wings Darren Hopkins and Lewis Winzer did not see much of the ball but again defended well. On the debit side Salcombe must avoid relaxing when ahead and take every chance to score. Two certain tries were missed with the line close by and no one in front by dropping the last pass.
Next week it is league again for the 1sts away at Tamar Saracens and the 2s are at home to Ivybridge 3s, both kicking off at 3.0 pm.
 

Following two frustrating weeks of cancelled fixtures, Salcombe 2nds at last started their season in the Devon Merit Table3 with a home fixture. The visitors were struggling for players and fortunately for them, with Salcombe firsts having no game they were able to provide Crediton with several key players.

The game started and within minutes saw Salcombe take an early lead from a penalty kicked by Lee Clarke in the Crediton 22. For the majority of the first half, Salcombe kept the visitors locked down in their half. Solid forward pressure from the pack ensured clean ball for the backs to work from and minutes later full back Rupert Bevan went over the line for the first try of the game, this was duly converted by Clarke. The first half continued to see Salcombe dominating the game and after some excellent ball handling, it was popped out to winger Richard Winzer for him to score in the corner. Crediton stepped up their game pushing Salcombe into their own half but some sloppy rucking enabled a free ball to be picked up on the halfway line by centre Ollie Masters who made a tremendous solo run to score Salcombe’s 3rd try of the match. From the restart Crediton saw a weakness in the Salcombe defence and pushed over a try which was converted, leaving Salcombe in the lead at half time 20 point to 7.

At half time, Salcombe made changes to its line up allowing all the squad to make their mark on the game. Building on the forwards attacking platform, gave the opportunity for the centre pairing of Ollie Masters and Pete Bastin to come good, with Bastin touching down and Clarke converting. Salcombe did not have things all their way, Crediton having exposed a weakness in the Salcombe defence took advantage of this scoring a further 2 tries and one converted. Salcombes backs did not take all the points scoring glory with flanker Stewart Cooper scoring a try mid way through the half. A couple of errors of judgement from the back line unfortunately denied winger Marcus Bromwich a chance of scoring but he had a couple of near misses. The home team final try came from Lee Clarke bringing his tally for the day to 12 points.

In all this was a commendable performance for the teams first game of the season and mention must be made of the solid contribution made by new signing James Palmer at lock, constant attrition and shepherding of the forwards by scrum half Luke Cole, the whole team played with determination which bodes well for the rest of the season, the next game being in two weeks at home against Ivybridge.

SOUTH MOLTON 15 SALCOMBE 20

In a tight match Salcombe deserved this win for the way the forwards battled against a heavy pack and the backs threatening every time the ball came their way. It was therefore appropriate that the Crabs two tries were scored by no8 Stuart Winzer and scrum half Cameron Johnstone.

South Molton relied almost entirely on their forwards in attack using the rolling maul to great effect. Outside they had little to offer and Salcombe were unlucky on several occasions not to score.
Chris Drew, having another good game, broke the home side's defence line repeatedly and a desperate ankle tap was all that stopped him when otherwise certain to score early in the first half. Eventually Salcombe pressure got its reward when after 20 minutes Drew slotted a penalty for South Molton's killing the ball. However almost immediately from the deep kick off South Molton won the ball and despite an apparent knock on put together a maul which trundled up to the line for their no8 to score the try which was converted leaving the half time score at 7-3 to the home side.

Turning round with both the breeze and the slope in their favour Salcombe soon got ahead when following a good take in the lineout by Sean Baker Salcombe went on a rumble of theirown. After several phases Stuart Winzer came up with the ball and powered his way over for the try which Drew converted. South Molton soon replied with a penalty to bring the scores level at 10 all. Salcombe went ahead with another Drew penalty but then in an uncharecteristic lapse in defence, the Crabs allowed South Molton to score wide out for an unconverted try. Facing a 13-15 deficit Salcombe went into the last 10 minutes determined not to have made the long journey north for nothing. Johnstone playing in an unaccustomed role at scrum half had clearly watched his opposite number closely and sensing his opportunity did not go for the tackle but went for the interception. Latching on to the ball he easily outpaced the cover over the 40 yards to the line to touch down under the posts to give Drew the simplest of conversions.

While not as spectacular as last week's win, this was in some ways more satisfying as Salcombe had to dog it out with a side that was always physical and powerful. The Crabs strategy of moving the ball rapidly away from contact paid off and when forced into hand to hand combat Chris Winzer led the way in dishing it out as well as taking it. The front five together all played well and it is good to see Sam Viles back to his old feisty self at hooker.

Next week the 1s have a week off while the 2s have a merit table match at home to Crediton 3s, ko 3.0pm.

After a couple of indifferent performances in the warm up games, Salcombe's supporters were concerned that the Crabs would find their first serious game of the season too stern a test. OPM newly relegated had been busy in the close season recruiting a new coach and players and were expected to be very strong with a big pack and lively outsides.
And for the first 5 minutes that was the way it looked. OPM immediately camped out in the Salcombe 22 and won a stream of albeit slow posession. But in that time Luke Cole at scrum half caught his opposite number 3 times to wreck their ball and although pinned back for the next 10 minutes, Salcombe looked comfortable in defence. On their first visit to the OPM half the Crabs won a penalty which Chris Drew slotted and quickly after that Liam Wills at centre latched on to an interception and just had the pace to make it from 40 yards out for the try which was unconverted. Following a good catch of a loose ball by Anthony Squire and some hard running from the wing the ball went to inside centre Richie Collins who galloped in for a try wide out which again in the teeth of a strong breeze remained unconverted to leave the score at 13-0. The last score of the half came when Cole yet again caught his opposite number at the base of a set scrum and the back row picked up the ball passing it amongst themselves for new signing Dominic Taylor at no 6 to score under the posts with Drew adding the 2 points to give Salcombe a half time lead 20-0.
The game was killed off as a contest within 5 minutes of the restart with the Crabs back row of Kevin Wreyford, Taylor and another new signing Ian Smerdon absolutely rampant. Straight from the kick off Salcombe won the ball and a quick pass from Wills gave the ball to Wreyford who barged his way over with Drew doing well with a tricky conversion. Within a minute Smerdon then added his contribution after the back row had collectively caused chaos in the OPM ranks and Smerdon went over for another converted try to bring the score to 34-0.
Further tries followed with Squire scoring a fine try in the corner after a sweet pass from replacement centre Rupert Bevan and Drew converted magnificently. Squire then fielded a deep kick and put in a freak one of his own for a 60 yard gain which rolled gently into touch 2 yards from the OPM line. Squire's celebratory running somersault was followed by Taylor getting his second try of the afternoon from the lineout following a good Salcombe drive. The conversion failed but Wreyford then also got his second coming off the back of the scrum and Drew converted to bring the score to 53-0. Late on OPM showed their class by putting together a fine try in the corner which was well converted.
It is invidious to pick out players in what was one of the best Crab's performances against true Devon 1 opposition. Everyone played well but the key lay in the control exercised on the game by the back row and half backs with captain for the day Chris Drew having the best game I have seen him play in years. The front 5 provided a solid platform against heavier opponents, the line out went well and speculative OPM kicks were gathered safely by Cameron Johnstone at full back.
Next week another hard match away at South Molton with both the 1s and 2s going away together. The coach will leave Twomeads at 10.45 and Kingsbridge Quay at 11.0 and there will be plenty of room for supporters to cheer the boys on.
 

Buckfastleigh v Salcombe - Barry Cup

Salcombe playing down the slope and with the wind spent the first 30 minutes of the match in their opponent's 22 but could not score. In part that was due to resolute defence by the home side but in the main it was due to mistakes and wrong options from Salcombe. Buckfastleigh lifted the siege when the Crabs tried to run from the base of the scrum, failed to cross the gain line, were turned over and the home stand off kicked 50 yards. This set up the hosts for a series of scrums and mauls which their heavier and more experienced pack relished. Salcombe sensed that in a close match they had missed their opportunity and this was duly confirmed when on the stroke of half time Buckfastleigh put over a penalty to give them a slightly lucky 3-0 lead.

The second half was closely fought and Buckfastleigh were not allowed to dominate territory with the slope in the way that Salcombe had in the first half. But on one of their excursions into the Crab's 22 they put together a fine rolling maul to go over for a converted try and whenever they hit the same area they looked dangerous, especially if the ball was with their pack. Salcombe were now stung into their best passage of play in the match. The forwards showed much more aggression with Sean Baker, Chris Winzer, Sam Viles and Sam Long prominent in a move which took play well into the home side's 22. Good possession and some smooth handling in the backs saw Anthony Squire go over wide out for an unconverted try. But Salcombe could not manage a repeat and so the Barry Cup went north for the first time in 4 years.

On the credit side for Salcombe new signing Ian Smerdon on the flank and come back king Luke Cole at scrum half were superb for Salcombe and clearly were the men of the match. Liam Wills and Richie Collins worked well at centre and Sam Long, Sam Viles and Chris Winzer fought hard against a much heavier front row all match.

Next week the League season starts with Salcombe entertaining OPM at home, ko 3.0pm.

The 2s also start their Merit Table campaign this week with a visit to Tavistock 3s, again with a ko of 3.0 pm.

Photos courtesy of Tomo.

Well its been a long time coming but at last the Crabs had close to a full complement of first team players and produced a win in the Promotion League against one of the stronger sides in the League who had beaten Salcombe 48-3 on the Crab's visit to the north.
The sun shone, the VPs and guests had enjoyed their annual lunch before the game and the pitch was firm. Salcombe immediately showed what they could do by scoring a try within the first minute of the match. Having kicked off Salcombe regained the ball via Sam Viles who passed to Rupert Bevan playing at stand off who in turn kicked shrewdly towards the one still muddy area of the pitch. The visitors' defence fumbled the ball and Mark Vallance did well to pick up and force his way over through a crowd of defenders. It was a great pity that he had to go off a few minutes later with a recurrence of a thumb injury as his pace clearly clearly would have troubled his opponent all afternoon.
From this frenetic start the match settled down with Salcombe dominating the game as they controlled the lineouts and much of the loose play with the back row providing the ball from a series of turnovers. Newcomer Matt Sheldon who had previously played only15 minutes before injury showed his class in this his first full game for the Crabs at openside. Similarly two other players making a welcome return were Olli Masters who made some great runs on the wing as well as being very sound in defence and Chris Winzer at prop. Chris was strong in the tight but had possibly his best game in the loose for Salcombe popping up everywhere, handling the ball beautifully and offloading well.
Eventually the pressure told and Masters fielded a South Molton kick out of defence and set off on a run towards his forwards. The ball was recycled quickly and in a glorious move nearly all the Salcombe players got in on the act before Lewis Winzer made the break then passing to Darren Hopkins. The winger was held up short of the line but offloaded to the ever present Richie Collins playing at centre for the try. Bevan converted to bring the score to 12-0. Further Salcombe pressure saw Bevan almost over and the same player narrowly missed with a penalty attempt. However Salcombe allowed their concentration to lapse and some poor defensive alignment and weak tackling let the visitors in for two tries, one converted to bring the half time score to 12 all.
The score remained the same for 25 minutes with Salcombe under some pressure as the visitors had the advantage of the breeze and got their reward with a penalty taking the score to 12-15. However an errant South Molton pass was intercepted by Viles deep in the Salcombe 22 and setting off with Chris Winzer and fellow prop Richie Fenton in attendance the trio made the halfway line before finding Masters who then took play to within 15 yards of the line. With Masters tackled James Cooper snatched up the ball and rounded off a fine afternoon by crossing for the try which was unconverted. Salcombe could have gone even further ahead but a penalty attempt failed and Bevan who had an excellent game at stand off otherwise, was relieved to hear the final whistle go a couple of minutes later.
This was in the end a hard earned victory but one of the most encouraging aspects of it for the future is the way a number of second team players have matured as first team players over the last few games. Alan Steer at second row, Mark Vallance on the wing and Richie Collins at centre spring to mind and combined with returning players like Masters and Sheldon they present a promise that excites. Lastly Cameron Johnstone who came on for the injured Vallance showed skill and maturity at fullback in his first outing for Salcombe.
Next week the 1s are at Totnes in the League and the 2s are at home to Newton Abbott 3s in a merit table match. Both kick off at 3.0 pm.
 

Paignton were the latest visitors to Twomeads and Salcombe couldn’t have started better with Harris touching down following good handling in the first 2 minutes. The cherry and whites came straight back and scored from the next play; only after Kieron had an excellent tackle to stop the first wave of attack. The Paignton forwards were well drilled and rucked better than the crabs in the first half, but Salcombe stuck to their task and competed well – just needing to protect the ball in contact.

From a lineout in the visitors 22 a well worked move at the front caught the opposition out and Harris went over for his second. With both tries out wide no conversions were added, half time 10 -5.

Salcombe started strongly in the second half with the forwards competing well and with a rock solid scrum. Any Paignton attacks were stooped in their tracks especially with the uncompromising tackling of Vooght who was outstanding in this area. The home side nailed their advantage scoring three more tries to one and winning hard fought encounter.

Full praise to the excellent refereeing of Aaron Cross.

This game started well for Salcombe who secured posession from the kick off, recycled it a couple of times before Harry Phillips, playing his last game before sampling the delights of Costa Rica for a couple of months, made a great break and slipped the ball to the ever present Jamie Laban who ran in the try from 25 yards out. Phillips then kicked the conversion and the Crabs were 7-0 up inside two minutes.
This woke New Cross up and the game became very much more even. With the advantage of the wind the visitors relied heavily on their kicking game to get them territory and cause Salcombe errors. On one such occasion a kick that the Crabs could have comfortably touched down for the 22 dropout was instead hacked into touch 5 yards out giving New Cross a superb attacking position. Salcombe defended very well but the referee in one of his rare intrusions into the contact area gave New Cross the penalty to make it 7-3. With their very good halfbacks controlling their game the visitors made steady progress territorially but were generally held with some ease by the Crabs. However a Salcombe scrum 10 yards out for once went against the head allowing the New Cross no8 to force his way over in the corner for an unconverted try taking the half time score to 7-8 to the visitors.
The second half was not much of a spectacle with both sides indulging in mid park trench warfare and a great deal of skulduggery at the breakdown, none of which seemed greatly to bother the referee. Consequently players tended to meet out their own retribution as they saw fit and despite the referee speaking to both captains the match became rather niggly with several incidents of “handbags” to keep the crowd interested. In the dying minutes of the game both sides decided to play some rugby and following a penalty 10 yards from the Salcombe line New Cross flicked the ball to their winger who touched down close to touch. Following a magnificent conversion New Cross were now 15-7 ahead. Not to be outdone Liam Wills playing on the wing put in a fine solo run to touch down just before demolishing the corner flag. The kick failed and shortly after the final whistle went.
This was a game the Salcombe of pre Christmas would have won and although for the first time in many weeks Salcombe were near full strength the old cohesion and sheer devil was not there. Too often individuals were going alone only to find the support was missing or the offload went astray. Must do better.
Easter next week with the Exiles playing the 2s on Good Friday and the 1s playing those inveterate tourists Wolverhampton Wizards on Easter Saturday, both matches kicking off at 3.0 pm. On Sunday of course the annual 7s competition with the first match kicking off at 11.0am.
 

By far the strongest team that Salcombe have met this season, Honiton deserved to win this encounter although two breakaway tries and the resultant14 points gave them a flattering margin. Nevertheless they were a team of big hard runners who handled well, attacking in numbers so that there was always support on hand to take the stream of offloads.
Salcombe played well in patches and this was one of the most spirited performances by a side that still fielded 6 second team players in for injuries to or unavailability of normal first team players. Further knocks meant that by half time all 3 Crabs subs were on and the scrums were uncontested after half an hour. Before that the game started ideally for Salcombe when after 5 minutes good ball from the set scrum went to Rupert Bevan at inside centre. He made a great half break before passing to his partner Harry Phillips who made the other half of the break to put winger Darren Hopkins clear. His opposite number misjudged Hopkins' speed and the Salcombe winger sailed past him with ease to touch down wide out. Chris Drew missed with the difficult kick.
Thereafter the half belonged to Honiton who scored 4 tries, 3converted to take the score to 26-5 in their favour at half time. But Salcombe contested well throughout with some great tackles smashing back the waves of Honiton attackers with Louis Gathercole, Bevan and Phillips particularly prominent.
There was no change to the score for the first 30 minutes of the second half and with the Crabs having the breeze behind them they maintained a lot of pressure on the visitors and were held up short of the line on several occasions. But then concentration lapsed and an innocuous kick ahead from the Honiton scrum half was not contested by the Crabs as it came into land allowing the kicker to gather and run the 50 yards to score under the posts. This was quickly followed by another breakaway try when the Crab's backs trying desperately to conjure another score, floated a pass which was seized by Honiton for yet another 50 yard run in. Both were converted to give Honiton 14 points that they scarsely deserved.
Salcombe then got the reward that they truly had earned when quick posession was moved swiftly through the backs to Hopkins who ran well before passing inside to full back Richard Collins who did well in evading would be tacklers to score in the corner. The conversion failed. In the dying minutes of the match Honiton then scored twice more to take their tally to 50.
Next week it is another home game for the 1s against Wessex in a match that will count for both the league and the semi final of the Devon Junior Cup, ko 3.0pm. Whether the 2s play is somewhat dependent on the number of them playing for the 1s. Never in recent seasons has the decision to run and develop the 2s been more vindicated as second team players regularly step up to the plate and play well for the 1s in difficult games.
 

The Crabs U13s entertained a Northampton touring side on a Saturday lunchtime and produced a performance for all to be proud of. There is still plenty to work on but with new players and a good team attitude this looks positive for the rest of the season and beyond.
Salcombe started brightly and Rushden were still on the bus when Ryan Harris went over for the first of his hat-trick and the red and whites never looked back.

Some of the passing and support play showed how the team is maturing and certainly pleased the supporters with Sam Barnet and Jack Gorden in the centers creating gaps and powering through the tackles. 5 tries were scored and there could have been more against a strong and well organized side.

Salcombe started very strongly and scored through Haydn Lidstone and Seb Tooke. Playing an open game further tries followed for Elliot Vooght and three more for Haydn Lidstone before Stonehouse replied with a try. Strong tackling in midfield by Charlie Preston and Thomas Broadgate kept Stonehouse out for the remainder of the half and with Haydn Lidstone sprinting in for two further tries Salcombe held a deserved 40-5 half time lead. The second half started much like the first with Salcombe scoring when Elliot Vooght darted in for a try, quickly followed by Haydn Lidstone’s seventh and eighth tries of the morning before coming off. Despite some good running by Charlie Preston Salcombe were unable to increase their lead and Stonehouse scored two late consolation tries.
 

A slightly weakened U13 side travelled to Torquay and due to wet weather had to play on a mini pitch – with both sides tackling well it was always going to be tough to score. The Crabs had the better of the first half and were denied time and again by last ditch tackles. Torquay came back in the second half and competed strongly at the breakdown – an area Salcombe need to improve on. With time running out a penalty kick from Day scraped the wrong side of the upright to deny Salcombe a deserved win.

While this was a much better performance against a much stronger team than last week the fact remains that the Crabs have yet to record a win in this Promotion League or for that matter to score a point. No doubt both will come although injuries to key players make more of a difference now that the quality of the opposition has so dramatically improved. Thus while Sean Baker had an immense game winning anything that was thrown to him in the lineout at four and being outstanding round the park, the absence of Jamie Laban and James Cooper left Salcombe without a regular no.2 jumper. Guess where Totnes threw their lineout ball!
Totnes started off at great pace and for the first quarter of an hour they kept up a relentless pressure on Salcombe's line. A missed penalty by the visitors gave Salcombe some relief but eventually the pressure told and Totnes went over from a rolling maul after they had once again set up good field position. The try was converted and speculation was rife about how many more they would score. But Salcombe led by skipper Stuart Winzer dug deep and for the rest of the half the game was much more even with the Crabs looking the more likely to score. Indeed everyone thought that Harry Phillips had scored wide out after a solo run from a tap penalty only for the ref to decide that he had had a foot in touch. On the other side of the pitch Anthony Squire too was kept out by a last ditch tackle following a lovely move down the backs after the forwards had won quick ball. Phillips was again kept out late in the half and then Totnes in one of their increasingly rare excursions into Salcombe territory were awarded a penalty to take the half time score to 10 nil to Totnes.
The second half saw Salcombe exerting pressure from the start and 3 minutes in Chris Drew missed a penalty from 35 yards. But Salcombe by now playing with confidence took several more penalties either with a tap and go or by taking the attacking lineout option. However the Totnes defence held firm and although Rupert Bevan tried hard to break through the middle and Squire and Darren Hopkins each threatened on the wings there was no way through. A long range kick ahead from Totnes was touched down for a dropout which went astray allowing the ever alert visitor's stand off to drop a neat goal. Thereafter Salcombe had most of the territory and posession and the Totnes skipper spent much of his time exhorting his troops “to keep them out”. Which they did most efficiently until the game ended.
Next week it is the long journey to South Molton for the 1s and we hope to arrange for the 2s to travel with them to take on South Molton 2s, ko 2.30.
 

As the score suggests this was a poor performance against a side that was only 5th in the NE League. Salcombe need to improve dramatically if they are not to have a torrid time of it in this promotion league. It is easy to make excuses about injuries to key players and the lack of match practice due to cryoffs and the weather but the truth is that Salcombe played dreadfully throughout this game. The forwards with the notable exceptions of Kevin Wreyford, Symon Cater and Sean Baker lacked fire and the backs while solid defensively, lacked penetration in attack and persistently dropped the ball.

About the only positive that can be taken from the match was that the three subs, Louis Gathercole, Richie Collins and Mark Vallance all did well when they came on. Indeed New Cross nominated Gathercole as Salcombe's man of the match and his charge down of a New Cross kick, swift pick up and excellent offload was the only moment of excitement in a dire second half when Salcombe conceded 16 points.

Next week it is Totnes at home for the 1s, ko 2.30 and the 2s hope to be able to catch up on one of their merit table games that have been lost to the weather.
 

Both clubs took the opportunity of a gap in the League programme to give some regulars a week off and to try out players pushing for a first team slot. This then was not a match for the rugby purist but was nevertheless entertaining as so many of the players were out to prove a point. That Salcombe won by three tries to two was mainly down to three pieces of inspiration by individuals rather than well worked team moves. Indeed from being 15-0 up at half time the Crabs were under pressure at the start of the second half and conceded two tries in quick succession as Buckfastleigh turned over ball regularly and used ruck and maul to good effect. Far too many Salcombe players hung off the contact point looking for glory rather than getting stuck in and securing the ball and too many yielded the ball easily when carrying it themselves.

Following fairly constant Crabs pressure with Anthony Squire twice tackled into touch close to scoring, Mark Lidstone broke the deadlock with a penalty. Soon after Harry Phillips, making a welcome return after injury, put in a strong run shrugging off tackles to score well out. Lidstone missed the conversion but then went over for his own try. A solid scrum gave scrum half Mark Vallance quick ball and a sniping run from him enabled Lidstone running a counter line to wrong foot the Buckfastleigh defence and crash over under the posts for the try which he then converted.

Salcombe changed over therefore 15-0 up and playing towards their favourite clubhouse end promptly forgot that to score you need to secure the ball. The visitors upped their game while Salcombe watched and soon the score was 15-12 as Buckfastleigh scored two well worked tries. Fortunately this was enough of a wake up call for Salcombe to step up sufficiently and reward the hard working Squire with good ball allowing him to shimmy over wide out for an unconverted try. Nevertheless Salcombe were relieved to hear the final whistle go as Buckfastleigh rallied again.

From a Salcombe point of view a lot was learnt about a number of players. Paul Bell had an outstanding game at flanker and Louis Gathercole also showed what a talent he is. Richie Collins had a good game at fullback fielding the visitor's frequent high kicks well and tackling fiercely. Sam Long coming on at tight head had a difficult time against a bigger more experienced prop but stuck to his task and got round the pitch well. Sam Viles as usual took several balls against the head in his own irrepresible style.

Next week the 2s play OPM3s at home ko 2.30 and the 1s are away in the league to as yet unknown opponents although rumour suggests it may be New Cross.
 

Tries: Squire (2).

Conversions: Keen (1).

Penalties: Keen (1).

Scores by Liam Wills (2), Rupert Bevan, Darren Hopkins, Simon Keen.

Scores by Gareth Bewley (2), Darren Hopkins (2), Lee Clarke(2), Stuart Winzar, Simon Keen