1sts vs Exeter Saracens home match report

Honiton slapped the wheels firmly back on the wagon on Saturday with a decent 25-19 win over a confident Exeter Saracens side. After the previous weeks disappointment, Honiton put in a committed performance to earn their fourth win of the campaign, a result which lifted them to fourth in the table heading into next weeks key fixture against unbeaten Tiverton.

The Lacemen played down the slope in the first half and with the scrummage starting well, Honiton pressed the stubborn visitors into the lower half of the field. The home side gathered some momentum, and from a lineout in the clubhouse corner the pack worked hard to drive several phases closer to the posts and indeed the line. Whitton showed sharpness to snipe close to the posts to record the first score of the game, with Cave adding the extras.

Honiton were good value for the lead, and they showed good application again to move play into the Sarries half soon after the re-start. Sarries gave away a couple of penalties and whilst the home sides tails were up, Guilbert asked Cave to add three to the score board, and he did so with relative ease to see the score notch up to 10-0.

Honiton and Saracens know each other well, and whilst the visitors are not perhaps the side they were last year, they do exhibit excellent ball retention skills. They employed this skill several times in the first half to put stress on the Honiton defensive line. Honiton repelled the men in red for many phases but the home sides nut was eventually cracked as Honiton ran out of defenders near the posts.

Honiton responded, and when Cave scythed through the mid field the Lacemen looked dangerous. Honiton stayed positive and showed the necessary degree of control to finish the move with the influential Cave again involved before Selway found Rice who crossed the whitewash to extend the lead to 15-7.

At half time Honiton knew Sarries would come back, and the visitors did as Honiton missed touch from a clearance kick. Sarries moved the ball well from the right hand side of the field to the left where they broke through the gain line. They were eventually halted ten yards out, but some uncharacteristic poor defence from Honiton allowed Sarries to score a seven pointer.

The game was in the balance, and Sarries had their tails up. However, when Sarries attempted to chip through Cave intercepted and raced sixty yards up the slope to score a try he converted.

Sarries converted a penalty of their own, but it was Honiton who finished the last ten minutes the stronger of the two sides and should have scored more tries had they shown the patience they exuded in the opening periods. As it was Cave knocked over a penalty from the ten yard line to put the game to bed.

Honiton had responded to last weeks disappointment in a positive fashion, next week they face their toughest test of the season as they travel to Tiverton.