Exmouth 28 - 22 Cleve

Having suffered four defeats since the start of this season’s League campaign, and with just one win to their credit, Exmouth needed to take two points from the visit of Bristol side Cleve. The problem with that ambition was that the visitors are also struggling and came with exactly the same mission. The resulting game was not a technical masterpiece but it did provide a lot of excitement with the result in doubt right to the final whistle.

 
Exmouth kicked off with a strong wind at their backs and within two minutes a Cleve player was penalised for not releasing. When the Cleve players gave Bucks RRS referee Richard Bennett a bit of lip he marched them back ten metres and Richard Cadywould kicked a much easier penalty. Minutes later Cleve had an opportunity to draw level but their kicker Matt Spencer went wide. With only five minutes on the clock Cadywould was back in the action again when he forced a Cleve player to spill the ball in a tackle and seizing the ball ran unopposed to score under the posts. He converted and had a personal tally of ten points to give Exmouth the start they wanted. Four minutes later he went from saint to sinner when he tried to run out of defence and lost his support. He was scragged by a number of Cleve players and his opposite number Matt Spencer emerged with the ball and scored under the posts.

He converted his own try and when he kicked a penalty with sixteen minutes played he had brought his side back to level terms at ten points each. Cleve were now starting to put together some nice rugby and with twenty minutes on the clock centre Tom O’Leary finished off a move with the ball passing through a number of hands. Spencer converted and Cleve took the lead for the first time a 17pts-10. The rest of the half was littered with penalties and Richard Cadywould converted two and the half time score of 17pts-16 in favour of Cleve was a fair reflection of the game.

 
Exmouth came out for the second half knowing the wind now favoured the visitors and when, within minutes of the restart Cleve winger Shak Ajuwa took a forward pass yards from the Cockles line a certain scoring opportunity was missed. Exmouth took the game back to the visitors and although the Cleve pack were bigger the Exmouth eight were beginning to exert some control but they were unable to convert this into scoring opportunities.  The pressure finally paid off after twenty five minutes when a drive by the pack was finished off by flanker Joe Heaver with Richard Cadywould converting.

Exmouth were now back in the lead  at 23pts-17 but when Adam Wylie was sin binned, followed three minutes later by Garry Hooper, the prospect of keeping Cleve at bay with thirteen players seemed unlikely. A try by Shak Ajuwa immediately heightened the tension and with twelve minutes to the final whistle the Cockles one point lead did not seem enough. The remaining thirteen battled their way through and looked the better, fitter side and when parity of numbers was restored a further score was on the cards. Seb Phelps finally settled things starting with a quick throw in on the half way line passing to an alert Adam Wylie. The lock forward charged toward the line and when he was tackled Phelps was at his shoulder to take the pass out of the tackle scoring wide out.

 
The win lifted the Cockles two places and with bottom side Oxford Harlequins due at the Imperial Ground in two weeks and an away trip to fellow strugglers Chippenham this Saturday maybe the next few weeks will see a further improvement in their fortunes.