Exmouth 54 - 0 Newton Abbot

The excellent start to the season continued for Exmouth Under 15's with a resounding victory of 54 nil against a very resilient Newton Abbott side.

 
As seems to be the normal start to a game Exmouth dropped the high ball from the kick off giving Newton Abbott an immediate advantage of an attacking scrum. The forwards re-deemed themselves and took the scrum against the head - an action which would settle the pattern of play for the rest of the first half.

The first try of the morning came from a solo run from James England who beat three defenders on his way to the try line from half way. England duly converted the try for a further two points. The attacking pressure from the Exmouth forwards was telling from the start, with Josh Elliot being driven over the line by his fellow forwards for his third try of the season. England again converted from wide out on the wing. Simon Hartey was next on the score sheet for his first of a brace of tries, following a driving run from Mark Woolley who released Simon after a fine run to to score under the posts. England Converted.

The fourth try was probably the pick of the day – following a fine catch by Ollie Howard from a kick off (yes we caught one!) the ball was spun out by Lloyd Watkins from the ensuing ruck toflying winger Joe Goode who ran in from some distance to score under the posts. England Converted.

 
The first half was a good display of committed rugby with the forwards, particularly the likes of Aaron Conway and Joe Biddulph putting in committed tackles and working hard at the rucks and mauls.

 
The second half was to take on a slighter different picture as Newton Abbott raised their game to put a lot of pressure on to Exmouth – this however was not before Bradley Neilsen had entered the game with immediate impact with a fine try outpacing the Newton defence. The conversion was missed.

 
The next 15 minutes showed that not only could Exmouth attack but their defence was solid – the concentration of the forwards under pressure was superb preventing Newton Abbott from scoring a try they deserved for all their effort. This coupled by the clearance kicks of Danny Sansom ensured that Exmouth kept a clean sheet!

 
The penultimate try of the game was again scored by Joe Goode who was put away for a jinking run to the try line after a lovely timed pass from Aaron Conway – Conway then scored the final try following an unselfish return compliment from Goode. Neilsen converting both to leave a very deserved victory of 54 points to Nil.