Teignmouth 56 Torrington 3

Last week’s defeat away to Withycombe had Teigns’ supporters scratching their heads; when was the last time Teignmouth had failed to score a try in a league match, they wondered. Well this week Teignmouth decided to make up for lost time as they ran in eight tries in what finally turned out to be a one-sided affair. But anyone who left at half-time would not have anticipated such a glut of scoring, as the visitors fought hard to keep the score respectable.
Struggling Torrington arrived at Bitton Park rock bottom of the league, and with less than 10 minutes gone it was easy to see why, as the Teigns opened up a 13-0 lead with a Moses penalty and a converted try from scrum half Stef Walker.
However, the visitors were determined not to be steamrollered; tenacious tackling from their defence, along with some over-ambitious play from the home side kept scoring opportunities to a minimum. Indeed, Torrington began to play some decent rugby of their own, creating sufficient pressure to gain a penalty which Hooper converted in the 26th minute, and then crossing Teignmouth’s line six minutes later; unfortunately for them winger Ware was forced into touch-in-goal before he was able to touch down, and Teignmouth gradually re-asserted control over the match.
On several occasions this season already, Teignmouth have received a stern talking to at half-time from coach Simon Morrell, and once again his words bore fruit early in the second half as the floodgates opened. “In the first half we forgot about the basics and felt we were going to run in tries every time we got the ball,” he said. “In the second half we went back to providing a solid platform with the forwards, keeping possession until we were in a position to use our backs most effectively.”
The result was a seven try romp, which centre Sean Lovett began with two tries in three minutes, both following good passing moves on the visitors’ 22. After that tries came on a regular basis as fellow centre Will Sowden and full back Will Gibbs scored two each and winger Chris Tidman added another, as Teignmouth’s backs showed the pace, power and accuracy of passing for which they are fast becoming renowned. Moses, who, along with fly half Jake Bury, played an important part in the build up to these tries, added four more conversions as the scoreboard finally began to reflect the gap in class between the two teams.
While the backs received the glory that comes with try-scoring, it should not be forgotten that skipper Colin Aldworth and his well-marshalled pack provided the platform for this impressive victory. Special mention should go to Ben Allison, normally a prop, who valiantly filled in at the last minute to replace hooker Andy Webber, the latter having spent most of the previous night attending the birth of his daughter.
So, plenty for the Teigns to celebrate last Saturday evening; no doubt coach Morrell will have reminded them, however, that sterner tests will need to be encountered if the dream of promotion is to remain alive. The first of these tests comes this Saturday with a trip to Totnes.