After an impeccably held minutes silence for Remembrance Day, the game got underway with Withies playing downfield. The ball didn’t last long inside the Torquay half though as the visitors started well, controlling large amounts of the early play.
However, as they found their way into the game and spending more time in possession, Withy made their way into the Torquay 22’ and began to work through the phases, eventually being rewarded with a shot at goal in a great position. Lewis Tose’s kick put Withy 3-0 up inside 10 minutes.
Soon after; the visitors were back on the front foot, making the most of Withy’s unforced errors as they made huge gains back up the pitch and into a similar position from what Withy saw themselves just a few minutes previous. Now with a penalty attempt of their own, Torquay took the chance to level the scores, however with the ball veering left of the posts, Withies held onto the lead.
The Tics continued to put pressure on the Withy defence and after losing Joe Blyth to the sin bin and conceding too many penalties, the visitors started to break down the defence, eventually scoring from a quickly taken penalty. The well taken conversion added to the points tally, giving Torquay a 3-7 lead going into the half time break.

The second half started in much the same way as the first had ended, with the Withy defences being tested. With the boys standing the test well, they weathered the Torquay storm and come out the other side with a decent counterattack back up towards the top of the field. With a penalty advantage to their name, Withies played with a little more freedom and with efforts to progress down the right-hand channel not paying off, Lewis Tose took the option of the Crossfield kick; with the ball’s bounce evading the awaiting Torquay defender, Tom Cooke collected mid-stride and ran for the line to score under the posts for a converted score to put Withy back in front.
With the lead now in their hands, Withycombe started to gain the upper hand in the game overall. A well-placed 50:22 kick from Tom Cooke gave the boys some huge territorial advantage and a great opportunity to put some pressure on the league leaders. This pressure was worsened when the Tics lost their Hooker to the sin bin; the yellow card also presented a chance to extend the lead, albeit through a tricky penalty kick attempt. Cooke stepped up to the mark and slotted the kick between the posts.
Keen to regain the lead, the visitors once again picked up the pace and, before long, found themselves back inside the Withy 22’. After a good period of ‘knocking on the door’, Torquay finally got the try they’d been hunting for; however, they needed the conversion to retake the lead – an audible sigh of relief could be heard from the Withy supporters when the kick drifted wide of the posts!
There was still time in the game for one more score and with the nature of the game being what it was, that score could’ve come from either side! Thankfully for the Withies, it was coming their way as, for the second time in two meetings between the sides, Lewis Tose had the final say of the match with a successful penalty kick in the final play of the game. The final score Withycombe 16, Torquay Athletic 12.

Next week, the Withies are back on the road as they make the short journey up the A376 to play Exeter Saracens at Exhibition Fields.