Teignmouth off to a flyer

TRIBUTE SOUTH WEST ONE (WEST) LEAGUE

TEIGNMOUTH 20 CHARD 7

Teignmouth got their second season in Tribute South West One off to a great start with a hard-fought victory over Chard on a miserable early Autumn’s afternoon at Bitton Park. With former coach Simon Morrell moving on to Bridgwater and Albion in the summer, new coach Marc Dibble must have been delighted to see that his work in pre-season is already paying dividends on the park.

A gusting wind and a steady downpour did not deter a good-sized crowd, and the home side gave a spirited display to take their minds off the weather. Both sides spent last season struggling to avoid relegation, but on this evidence Teignmouth are the more likely to consolidate their position this year.

One of the main reasons for the Teigns avoiding the drop last time around was their ability to convert lineouts in their opponents’ 22 into tries on a regular basis, thanks to their well-organised catch and drive routine. This relies on an uncanny understanding developed over the years between the Parsons brothers. Older brother Rob is fast becoming the most reliable lineout catcher in this league, but he relies on sibling Pete to be accurate with his throwing, not to mention the power of the rest of the pack to drive the opposition back over their own line.

The result last season was that Pete was the easily highest scorer at the club with 19 tries; with long-serving skipper Colin Aldworth stepping down from the captaincy to concentrate on his new role as player-coach, the younger Parsons has taken over, and so far it does not appear to have affected his taste for the try-line, as his two first half scores set his side up for a well-deserved victory.

The pattern of play was set early on as the home side dominated possession and territory, but found themselves up against a formidable defence. It took almost half an hour finally to break down the Somerset resistance, but once they did, it wasn’t long before they managed a repeat performance.

The second try was a carbon copy of the first; Faolan Lidstone kicked a penalty into touch when he might have had a pot at goal, the Parsons brothers threw, caught and drove with the rest of the pack and Teignmouth were 10-0 up.

Although Chard finally showed some attacking intent just on half-time, when they took advantage of Aldworth’s yellow card to score through Luke Aplin followed by Jon Humphries’ conversion, the 10-7 interval score flattered the visitors.

An early Lidstone penalty in the second half gave the Teigns some breathing space, and despite their narrow lead they always looked comfortable. Unfortunately the conditions made it difficult for the backs to break down the stubborn Chard defence, as long periods of multi-phase possession often ended with handling errors.

The win was wrapped up with the final play of the game as a five-metre scrum gave the excellent Alex Ford a chance to touch down for a pushover try which Lidstone converted.

Dibble felt that on a drier, less windy day his side would probably have wrapped up a bonus point to put the cherry on the cake, but was nevertheless delighted with the victory. Last season the first win came in the eighth match, so that particular monkey is immediately off the Teigns’ backs. They travel up the M5 this week, looking to repeat last year’s excellent away win at Clevedon.