With injuries and unavailability plaguing the side, Withy made the journey to Plymouth with just sixteen players; three of which with minimal game time - it looked to be a tricky game ahead on paper.
With third-placed Devonport quickly utilising space on the wing to run in a score inside the first two minutes, it seemed that we could be in for a long afternoon!
Services continued to pressure Withy after the try, but their defence stood strong. With Devonport losing former Withy player Sean Harrison to the sin bin, Withy were able to make some gains in territory and were rewarded with a shot of goal. Lewis Tose slotted the kick to narrow the gap to two points. 5-3 after 16 minutes.
Devonport fought back to earn two quick fire penalties to extend their lead to 11-3.
With the game now becoming quite end-to-end, Withy now powered towards the line and were agonisingly close to scoring, however with the ball being lost whilst twisting over the line, Devonport had been let off and had kept their 8 point lead. This was further extended with two tries before the break to bring the half time score to 21-3.

As the second half got underway, Withy upped the pace and became an equal measure for their more experienced opponents. Unfortunately, some loose handling and slower play at the breakdown meant that Devonport could occasionally take advantage of the situation and make some lengthy runs. This led to their fourth try of the game. Soon after a fifth was on the cards, but as the player opted for the flamboyant score, they dropped the ball!
With a little over an hour on the clock, Withy got the score that they both needed and deserved; a well-weighted chip from Tose found Ben West on the wing who just about avoided stepping into touch to score in the corner.
With more fire in their bellies, Withy stepped up again and were back on the score sheet with Captain Max Cooke crashing over the line. With two minutes remaining, the score was 26-13. Another surge of activity from Withy was beginning to look promising to make it a one-score game. A fracas on the pitch resulted in the home side losing two players to the sin bin. Keen to exploit the number advantage, Withies ran with the ball, but unfortunately with the ball being knocked on, it landed in the hands of the defender who turned pace and ran two thirds of the field to score. The final score, Devonport Services II 33, Withycombe 13.

Despite the score, it was a great performance from the boys who took to the situation well to make the hosts work harder than they have have expected; finishing with a score line that didn’t fully reflect the game.

There’s a week off next week before derby day arrives as we welcome Exmouth Quins to Raleigh Park.