Teignmouth climbed to joint first place in the league table on the back of this workman-like performance against one of their main competitors for a promotion place, and had a stunning kicking performance from debutant Will Luscombe to thank for the victory.
In a game which was always going to be tight, having a reliable kicker was an imperative, but Luscombe only took over the kicking duties from Jarred Baker when the latter had to limp off early in the second half. His arrival from Ivybridge will ensure that there will be plenty of competition for places in the back division during the second half of the season.
Before the new boy started to have an impact on the game, Honiton had showed why they have been in the top three or four all season. They have their own reliable kicker, Glenn Channing, who opened the scoring early on with a penalty, before Will Sowden got on the end of a flowing passing move to touch down in the corner to give the Teigns a brief lead.
Honiton went into the break with a 6-5 lead thanks to another Channing penalty, and then at the beginning of the second half Josh Barrett crashed through the Teignmouth defence to touch down. Channing added the conversion and at 13-5 Honiton looked favourites.
Things looked even gloomier for the home side as Baker, who has scored some important points in recent weeks, left the scene. But as the Teigns started to pile on the pressure, Honiton were forced to concede a series of penalties in their own half, and Luscombe needed no second invitation to nail five successive kicks.
This knocked the stuffing out of visitors, and although Channing managed to kick two late penalties to claim a losing bonus point, they never looked likely to grab the lead. With Crediton surprisingly losing to Veor, this win sees Teignmouth join the mid-Devon outfit at the top of the table with 37 points.
So the second leg of Teignmouth’s December Challenge was successfully accomplished, and they will hope that the long trip back from a resurgent Newquay Hornets will be full of Christmas cheer this Saturday, as the second half of the season gets under way.