Teignmouth and Torquay have been playing each other on and off for around 140 years,

For many years recently Teignmouth have not had the chance to play the ‘Tics, as since the introduction of league rugby they were always at least one division below. They now have a golden opportunity to spend next season one division above!

Torquay are a proud club, and started the game with revenge on their mind following the reversal they suffered at Bitton Park in October. After 15 minutes they turned their early dominance into points with an Aaron Graham try which skipper Alex Jeffrey converted.

However, this was just the spur that the visitors needed, and within two minutes they were level with a try from number 8 Jamie Gray and a conversion from fly-half Joe Simmonds.

This led to a period of intense pressure from the Teigns which eventually paid off when full-back Chris Sherlock burrowed over from close range, but Torquay came back with a vengeance and tied the scores up before half-time with a Jimmy Hill try in the corner.

The second half was a completely different scenario, however, as the visitors’ superior fitness started to tell. As so often in the past three seasons, Will Sowden led the way with his 17th and 18th tries of the season, with flanker Rob Parsons scoring only his second senior try in between. With Simmonds’ kicking radar switched on he added the three conversions to put the result beyond doubt, despite Andy Gormley’s converted try for the home side.

The icing was on the cake when centre-turned-winger Chris Tidman ran in his 11th try of the campaign with two minutes remaining, although sadly the game ended on a sour note when Torquay lock Jon Woodhead was sent off for punching on the final whistle.

Coach Simon Morrell could not have been happier; “Torquay massively upped their game, but we stuck to our guns and after the first twenty minutes it was clear we had established a strong foothold in the match. Torquay to their credit managed to hang on in the game for 60 minutes, but inevitably the pressure told and we deservedly put them to the sword. Local derbies are always tricky encounters especially when you gift the opposition 7 points, but on reflection we ran out comfortable winners and good value for our 5 point win.”
With five matches remaining, Teignmouth lie in second place, with the prospect of a promotion play-off match against the runners-up in the Western Counties (North) League looking more and more possible. The first of those matches is this Saturday at Devonport Services.

Match Report: Paul Williams