Match day 18 is approaching. Just five games to go and things are starting to get important as this week the Withies could get one hand on the Tribute Devon 1 trophy when they travel to North Devon for the second time in a month to face Torrington.
Last Weekend, the Withy boys ran out 31-7 winners in a muddy match over at Bicton. Tries from Paddy Haddad, Rory Collings, Mike Richards and two from Ben Dawson with three Paddy Haddad conversions amounted to the Withies’ seventeenth win. This win earns Withycombe the impressive accolade of being one of only two unbeaten sides in the entire South West this season, with Western Counties North side Stroud being the second.
Looking to put an end to this running streak will be our hosts, who are on a high after beating second-placed Tamar Saracens 10-8 at Donnacroft Fields last weekend. Mid-table Torrington currently sit sixth on 36pts, winning 7 of their 16 outings.
In league terms, when Withy and Torrington met back in November, a 14-man Torrington side arrived at Raleigh Park and played a highly spirited competitive match. Withy loaned a couple players to level out the numbers but eventually went on to win 86-7. However, more recently in the Quarter Final of the Devon Junior Cup, the two sides met up in North Devon in a much more closely contested affair. Withy came flying out the blocks with an opening try in little over a minute but a much more even game followed, with the boys eventually going on to win 26-17.

Speaking after last night’s training session, Sam Williams said: “We return to Torrington after just a few weeks having been tested in our recent Cup quarter final with the same opposition. Torrington have really pulled things together as demonstrated by last week's fantastic victory over Tamar Saracens and we go there in full knowledge of the physical nature of that side.
The weather has again this week disruptive preparations however I'm confident the boys will quickly get on task as we stick to our usual process-based focuses.
In addition to the 1st XV this weekend, the 2s are due to host Tiverton 3rds and it's great that we've been able to get two sides out once again this season. The side is of a predominantly young one but with a few old heads thrown in for a bit of guidance and reassurance. The second team squad sees the welcome return from a long-term injury of Rob Griffin who will hopefully come through unscathed and be back into the mix for the last few weeks of the season.
As always your support is much appreciated and hope to see you Saturday”

Tomorrow’s game kicks off at 2:30pm from Donnacroft Fields in Torrington (EX38 7BU). We hope to see as many of you there to be that "16th Man" to support the boys, so bring your supportive voices to cheer on the boys in Green and Black. For those that cannot be there, you can follow live match updates online at http://bit.ly/TORRvsWITH or via the Pitchero App.

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