Falmouth 0 Teignmouth 36

Teignmouth moved another step closer to the Tribute Cornwall & Devon League Championship with a victory that probably flattered them somewhat, but which showed once again the resilience of the side when it is under pressure.
Falmouth have had a disappointing year by their standards, but they have proved difficult to turn over at home. In the first half last Saturday it was sometimes difficult to work out which team had been top of the table for most of the season, as the Cornishmen’s pack made life extremely difficult for the visitors for long periods.
But Teignmouth’s success this year has been based on a solid defence, and again that particular quality prevented them from being overrun.
The match started well for the Teigns, as it has on so many occasions this season. Top scorer Will Sowden is always on the lookout for weaknesses in the opposition, and when an early home pass went astray he was there to intercept and run in the first of his three tries, which Dan Force converted.
That, however, was the only score of the first half, as the Teignmouth defence soaked up pressure without ever looking like being breached.
Another recurrent theme in this splendid season has been the fitness of the Teigns, and when Falmouth started the second half still scoreless it seemed that their energy levels slumped, and the visitors were only too happy to take advantage.
Firstly Sowden’s colleague in the Devon senior squad Jamie Rudkin finished off a rolling maul to score the second try of the afternoon, before Sowden himself took centre stage with a wonderful run which managed to evade several desperate attempts to tackle him.
The bonus point which Teignmouth needed to keep them in the hunt for the title came with Ben Parrett’s try, and the scoring was rounded off with yet another Sowden interception and a sixth try from scrum-half Mike Saxton. Force took his season’s tally to over 200 points with two more conversions, while Sowden’s hat-trick was his fifth in a season where he has scored 39 tries in all games.
This week Teignmouth’s visitors are Hayle for the final home game of the season. Sowden in particular will be looking forward to this fixture, having notched seven tries in the away fixture back in December. Should the Teigns win with a bonus point, they will be crowned champions with one game in hand, and the team would greatly appreciate a big crowd to cheer them on at Bitton Park. Kick-off is at 3pm.