Teignmouth 13 Drybrook 47

“Oh well, we can concentrate on the league now!” That was the general feeling in the clubhouse after Teignmouth got a rugby lesson from Gloucester side Drybrook.
High on confidence, Drybrook put in a champagne performance to lift the South West crown against a Teignmouth outfit who have only tasted defeat on one previous occasion this season. The home side had all the early pressure but all they had to show for it was a Dan Force penalty after 15 minutes.
Drybrook hit back immediately when a strong driving maul resulted in a penalty kick in front of the posts that Tom Treherne easily converted. But after 26 minutes Force restored the Teigns’ lead with another penalty.
With the visitors down to 14 men following a yellow card they upped their game and No 8 Andy Chesters went over for a try following a scrum close to the home line and Treherne added the conversion. This was followed by a disastrous few minutes for the Teigns as first winger Andy Bulumakau and then skipper Simon Rugman added to Drybrook’s lead with further tries, the second of which Treherne successfully converted to complete the first half.
Drybrook continued their superiority into the second half as Teignmouth’s heads started to drop.
With 10 minutes gone Rugman forced his way over the line for a try and the home side’s discipline fell apart as two players saw yellow.
Treherne increased the visitors’ lead with a penalty before Will Sowden finally crossed the line to give the Teigns some hope. But Drybrook prevented any chance of a comeback when Bulumakau made a lot of ground before slipping an inside pass to Rugman who dived over in the corner.
The last 10 minutes belonged to the Gloucester men and their superiority was emphasised when Moore grabbed a pushover try and Adam Swordy added the conversion, and then in the last minute a kick and chase by centre Luke Fisher caused more panic in the home ranks and winger Charlie Dagwell was put in for an easy try.
Following the game home skipper Colin Aldworth felt that his side had been over-confident beforehand, a result of their tremendous progress this season. He was determined, however, that his side would pick themselves up and dust themselves down in time for this Saturday’s vital match away to second-placed St Ives. There are still places available on the coach and the side would appreciate a big away following for what could be a league decider.