High Score for Our Boys!

This match will have caused the defensive coaches on both sides to have some sleepless nights, as twelve tries were conjured up by some imaginative and ambitious passing an running aided and abetted by a lack of effective tackling.

Last season Clevedon blazed their way to second place in South West One, and were unlucky to lose out by three points in the Promotion Play-Off match. In the process they put the Teigns to the sword on two occasions, but this side was very different both in personnel and intent, and with two defeats from two matches they look like they will be struggling against relegation unless things start to change soon.

The first half saw the home side impose themselves quickly with a Mike Saxton penalty and a try by Danny Luffman, converted by Saxton. Although Burns got the visitors on the scoreboard midway through the first period, two more home tries from Alex Ford and Luffman, both converted by Saxton, put the Teigns on the way to their first win of the season by half-time.

After the break the tries continued to come along on a regular basis. Tom Thie, Matt Fisher and Joe Tucker kept Clevedon believing they could get back into the game, and ensured a losing bonus point.

However these scores were interspersed by five more home scores through Henry Raby, Will Sowden, Dan Force and Callum Browse, while Luffman completed his hat-trick, and Saxton added three more conversions.

After the match Head Coach Marc Dibble was delighted with the adventurous approach of side, and the way they made the most of their chances. However, he pointed out that there will need to be some work done on tackling in the coming weeks: “On the one hand, I’m pleased that we’re getting into the position to tackle, rather than leaving spaces for the opposition to run through. However, we’ve got to be more efficient with those tackles, and avoid missing so many.”

This week sees the first of several Devon Derbies this season, as the side make the short journey to Cullompton to face the side promoted from Western Counties (West) last year.