PLYMOUTH BARBARIANS 15 TEIGNMOUTH 25

Teignmouth won for the first time since early January as they travelled to Plymouth to face a spirited Barbarians side.
This was the third meeting between the sides this season, and it was clearly a case of familiarity breeding contempt in an ill-tempered encounter which saw a red card for the home side and yellow cards for both.
Nevertheless, it is a match which will be remembered by winger Aidan Ovens – only minutes into his debut he opened the scoring with a try. The Teigns’ management clearly see him as one for the future, and he was eager to repay their faith in him.
However, the Barbarians had won their last two games and were keen to continue this streak of form, and it was not long before they had taken the lead with first a penalty from Finlay Gilding and then a try from flanker Martin Jarvis.
Teigns’ skipper Colin Aldworth had been forced to miss the match because of illness, but despite his absence the visitors were in control up front at this stage. It was therefore only a matter of time before they regained the lead with a Jake Bury try which enabled them to turn round 10-8 in front.
The see-saw nature of the game continued early in the second half as Gilding added a try to his earlier penalty, and then Tom Watson took over the kicking duties to convert.
One of the more impressive facets of Teignmouth’s play this year has been their fitness levels which have enabled them to come strong in the later stages of matches. As the effects of being reduced to 14 men began to tell on the home side, the visitors’ dominance up-front provided an increasing number of try-scoring opportunities.
Whereas the backs have provided a constant supply of points throughout the season, on Saturday the forwards got into the act as both locks, Aaron Kelly and Adam Dowsing, and flanker Joe Cochrane crossed the Barbarians line to claim the win and a bonus points.
The 5 points gained from this hard-won victory moved the Teigns back into 4th place in the league; sadly, Honiton and Tavistock are now starting to disappear into the distance at the top of the table and so Teigns’ fans will probably have to wait another year for the squad to mount a serious promotion charge. The addition of talented youngsters like Ovens to that squad should ensure that the future is bright.
Teignmouth will be hoping to build on this performance with a home match this Saturday against rock-bottom Totnes, kick off 2.30.