NEWQUAY HORNETS 13 TEIGNMOUTH 5

At the beginning of December the management of Teignmouth Rugby Club would probably have settled for two wins out of three during a difficult month; the pre-Christmas programme looked a daunting one, but having won the first two matches of the month the Teigns will be disappointed that they fell at the final hurdle against a resurgent, but beatable, Hornets side.
Earlier in the season Teignmouth had sent Newquay back to Cornwall with their tails between their legs, but the Cornishmen have embarked on a decent run of late, and the visitors knew this would be no pushover.
The conditions for this match could not have been more different to those experienced during an Indian Summer back in September; Teignmouth were forced to play into a strong wind in the first half, and quickly found themselves under pressure. This eventually led to a penalty being conceded and centre Liam Freeman put the Hornets in front with what turned out to be the only successful kick of the afternoon.
Teignmouth’s talented back division were struggling to cope with the wind, but the forwards were starting to dominate the home pack, and after 20 minutes they first charged down an attempted clearance kick, and then won the ensuing ruck to enable prop Paul Scott to force his way over the line.
The pattern of play continued almost to half time with the Teigns’ pack in control. However, the backs were not able to take advantage of the possession and territorial advantage, as Newquay’s defence remained resilient. So it was a surprise when Hornets’ No. 8 Tim Eustice made a break down the wing to put flank forward James Alexander in to give the home side an 8-5 lead at the break.
Most spectators felt that with the wind at their backs it would only be a matter of time before the visitors turned their dominance into points during the second half. But it turned out to be one of those days for the Teigns’ backs; faulty decision-making and handling errors meant that the forwards efforts went to waste, and in the 49th minute Freeman took advantage of a wayward pass to run in a second try for the home side.
Despite continuing to dominate, Teignmouth were unable to break down the obstinate Newquay defence, and so left the Duchy empty handed as other promotion challengers gained ground. Nevertheless, as the season re-starts at the beginning of January the Teigns find themselves in 4th place in the league, only 2 points adrift of leaders Honiton and Hayle, both of whom they have defeated in recent weeks. The dream of promotion is still very much alive.