The 2oos resumed Merit Table action with a tough looking away trip to a Newton Abbot side that had been racking up points for fun in the early part of the season.

On a sticky pitch and a dank still afternoon the Okes received the kick off and cleared to half way but in terms of territory , that was about as good as it got for the first 20 minutes that saw the hosts , backed with a large squad , camped in the visitors 22 . Regardless of how possession came , the All Whites were unable to breech the Okes defensive line until a penalty on 20 minutes , when the decision was made to take the 3 on offer as opposed to banging heads against a wall for the rest of the half ! . The All Whites 10 with a sweet boot throughout , slotted the inevitable.

The Okes response was immediate and impressive and with a challenge on the restart that saw the hosts on the back foot , phases of forward hard yards with Johnny King , Pez , Joe Mawle and an irrepressible Buster Francis saw play driven to the hosts 22 . With space created the ball was moved impressively through the back line with Pete Lawrence drawing the last defender to put 2oos icon and Vets representative John Short in for an impressive team try. Luke Simmons hoofed an excellent conversion from wide to put the Okes in the lead .

Stalemate was the order of the day for the remainder of the first half with the Okes turning round 7 – 3 to the good .

The second half saw the Maroon and Amber pack gradually begin to assert themselves . Scrums were beginning to see Okes dominate proceedings with a number of turnovers . The line out was also functioning very efficiently with Francis hitting double tops on every throw. The back line had plenty of possession with Darcy Heard , George Baker and Luke Honeychurch all making impressive breaks with fullback Honeychurch running the ball back on several occasions with serious intent .

The pressure eventually took its toll and after a few flurries of intent from the hosts , play was again back in the Newton Abbot 22 when a series of scrums saw the Okes drive the truck for Callum Pillivant , again a powerful presence all afternoon , grab the touch down to put the Okes 12 – 3 up.

The hosts responded impressively and with a raft of changes/ fresh legs , threw everything at their visitors . The defence was again stoic and impressive but having worked hard for the turnover , madness ensued with an exit strategy of champagne rugby in their own 22 – as you do , resulting in a desperate hack bouncing off a chap in a white shirt followed by a bit of footy with the yer man in white winning the touch down . Afore mentioned man with sweet boot put the hosts in front which, from the Okes perspective, was self inflicted !

In keeping with the tempo of the game , the response was again to be applauded . Simmons’s excellent restart was claimed and after 10 minutes of constant pressure with King, Pillivant and Ollie Francis all putting the hosts on the back foot with great yards and hard charges.

Phases later and Francis was the beneficiary of the final pass to see the busy flanker use all his guile and strength to power his way for the score . With the Okes now 17 -13 up and with 15 mins to go , a betting man would see the Okes stick to strengths , keep the ball tight and see the game out !

Predictably the hosts came back with a vengeance even against the Okes forwards holding the upper hand . Numerous waves of attacks were again met with a “ thow shalt not pass” mentality with a score to restore the home lead looking very unlikely .

That was until the Okes earnt the turnover at which point it was deemed a good idea to throw the ball around with gay abandon . Thankfully the hosts failed to take advantage of the gifts on offer although the final pass of the ball on the last occasion flew nowhere near anyone remotely involved in the game and was retrieved from a nearby bush !

Having resumed a modicum of calm and control , the Okes broke upfield via a great break from Darcy Heard and although penalised for holding on , play remained in the hosts half and with the clock running down , the hosts threw caution to the wind to try and steal the game but with great line speed , the Okes back line forced play to the extent that the alert Brandon Horn intercepted and galloped home from 22 out to close the game out 13 – 22 to the Okes.

An excellent win with great team spirit that keeps the lads in the upper echelons of Devon Merit Table 1.

Next Sat see the lads travel to Paignton where support would be welcome and appreciated.

Okehampton RFC

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