SRFC vs South Molton (12-27)

Monday 25 October, 2021, by Oli Masters

After a week off and following a victory on the road last time out, the Crabs came up against a talented South Molton team who on this evidence deserve to be higher in the league than their current standings.

The first half was fairly evenly poised, with territory and possession shared between both teams but Molton having the better of the scrums. Despite this Salcombe went into half time only 2 points behind the visitors and were actually first to score following an Eoghan Grace break before feeding Jon Squire to finish well under pressure near the sticks.

The second half began badly for the home team with an early score taking some of the wind out of their sales and South Molton eventually getting their bonus point score with about 15 minutes remaining. Another Squire try under the posts gave the Crabs some belief but couldn’t quite sustain the pressure enough to reel in the North Devon team who by this time had a lead that was agonizingly out of reach.

The man of the match award went to Jordan Tebb in the centre who looked dangerous in attack and brutal in defence. Other notable performances include Charlie Rawlinson on the wing who was assured throughout and unlucky more than once not to score, David Evans at scrum half who linked the forwards and back well all game and returning veteran Neil Elliott.

The positives from this performance however were stark for Salcombe and clear for all to see (including the 100 or so spectators), in reality you wouldn’t have to go too far back in time for this to have been a very one sided game indeed. Salcombe played with intent and with an attacking structure that has been developed in training and starting to be shown on matchday, defensively the tackles were fierce especially in the midfield – an area of the game that has been worked on hard in training and the speed, physicality and commitment to the cause were shown in spades.

More positive still is the fact that the coaching team were able to select for the first time a 20 man squad and still leave some disappointed boys out from the 27 that turned up to training - something not achieved for some time, this in turn has led to a competition for places that can only build better players.

The players would like to thank the supporters who were vocal and supportive for the whole 80 minutes, new match shorts sponsor Shaun Taylor Flooring, Benji Trinder for the new club flag, The Fortescue Inn who provided the after match players meal, Emma Woods and her assistants for the raffle and lastly to South Molton who stayed for several hours after the game to enhance inter club relations through dynamic rehydration.