Cullompton v Tiverton is like England v Australia as Ben Pitkin who played at nine this week, remarked last Saturday, it was funny how plenty of players were up for a game with Tiverton seconds but for this week’s second’s visit to Devonport D.O.R Steve Luxon was struggling for numbers for the two teams. He had to resort to the extreme measure of propping for the seconds himself but at least the front row could boast over one hundred years of experience. Lost from last week’s firsts were Jacob Wood unavailable, James Shere and Tom Bendall injured and both Ross Toms and Zac May were taken off in the first five minutes, Toms with a torn bicep and May with concussion which gave early starts to Paul Baker and Kev Davis and emptied the two man bench. This left a different team to the one that had played so well against a full strength Thornbury the previous week with the absence of Shere and Toms leaving only Chris Grant, Will Gingell and Dan Reed as senior first teamers to provide the experience on the ground that comes from older heads.

This game was a hiccup in Cully’s recent match by match improvement with the result little better that of the meeting earlier in the season but Devonport did field a better looking team with at least half of the personnel different. Referee Nigel Boyd was a vast improvement on last time’s John Murray in that unlike Murray he soon spotted Devonport loosehead, Struan Main, persistently pulling down the scrum and Cully were, this time, able to benefit from the set piece which was just as well as their lineout was costly and hardly managed to retain any ball at all. The general play of Cully did not seem to quite match the highs of last week with some young Cully players afterwards expressing dissatisfaction with their game which several including Senior Playing Chairman(SPC) Steve Luxon felt may have been the result of uninvited and unwarranted comments from non playing members, the team received after the Thornbury game. Confidence plays an important part in rugby and although harsh criticism is shrugged off by older players it leaves the younger ones wondering just what they have to do when told their best is not good enough.

Luxon added that much has changed in just over ten playing months. Sixteen players have retired and there are currently the same number injured which in total are enough for two teams! He feels that the remaining lads are giving everything they have got for the cause and progress and morale is commendable. Indeed commendable was Ross Oaten who stepped in for Toms and looks like making a tough ball carrying ten who is strong in contact and kicks well out of hand; also Ben Pitkin who covered for Shere as the other half back who also kicked well and performed in the position that requires a cool head and quick thinking.

An early Toms run drew a penalty but the kick failed to find touch and Devonport held territorial advantage for the next ten minutes during which time Cully lost Toms and May. After two poor Cully lineouts the visitors began to kick to touch at every opportunity An Oaten penalty kick eventually saw Cully to the opposition ten for the first time but the penalty lineout was not thrown straight so Devonport elected for one of their own, went on to a scrum then started a good handling move which launched their full back Toby Moss to the line for a try converted by standoff Richard West for 0-7.

The ball was not easy to handle all game due to the claggy nature of the pitch which resulted in few long handling moves and plenty of scrums. Referee Boyd soon spotted Devonport’s attempt by the loosehead to neutralise Cully’s scrum advantage which was a useful backstop for much of the match to counter the poor lineout. Unfortunately the wily visitors noticed no sanction was forthcoming when the set piece was turned so later scrums were spinning like tops to Cully disadvantage. At around twenty three minutes the Cully scrum came into its own when after a Devonport knock on at an overthrown Cully lineout Devonport on both the scrum and the reset dropped it with a backward step giving Cully a penalty which had to kicked for the posts when Boyd moved the award ten paces nearer the goal for swearing Full back Josh Luxon slotted the kick for 3-7

The remainder of the half was dominated by Devonport who scored in the twenty eighth minute after a maul had travelled a full twenty five metres from near half way and the ball then moved wide. Good Cully tackling held the visitors for a couple of minutes but a good reverse pass let openside Joe Semple through the line to dot down untouched between the posts. It was Semple again in the thirty seventh minute and this one again from a lineout. It was a penalty lineout on the Cully five and the defenders did not contest the ball and had the maul down very quickly but Devonport retained possession and it was quick hands to Semple for the 3-21 score at the break, West having converted both.

In the second minute after the break Cully appeared to have a lucky let off when the opposition dropped the ball right on their line and although Pitkin’s clearance to touch from the ensuing scrum made good ground the Devonport maul ate into the distance and from their hooker’s clever break blindside Will Marsh was put through for the try. It was a good day to be a flanker as Marsh scored again ten minutes later. In a period of Cully territorial advantage there was another poor lineout giving Devonport a scrum on their ten which spun around and the visitors were given a penalty. Quick thinking West tapped it, was through the defence and passed it to Marsh to give him a clear run to the line. West converted both for 3-35.

There was a moment to cheer for Cully supporters when a slightly overconfident Devonport was trying to run the ball out of their half and Luxon leapt up for an interception scored between the posts and converted for 10-35 but Devonport had the last word when their eight broke off of a scrum just outside the Cully twenty two and put away winger Luke Kenny in the corner for an unconverted try for 10-40. Cully finished trying to make the score a little more respectable. Oaten intercepted and took play to the opposition twenty two, Andrew Hayball turned over possession for Cully and after several phases of pick and go Grant was held up in goal.