Resilient Withies earn hard-fought win

After two postponed attempts at the fixture, the boys finally made the journey up to North Devon to play their 'in-hand' game. Plus, with a strengthened Ilfracombe side hosting a weaker Withies pack, it was a game that could go either way - an exciting game was most certainly on offer!

The game started in the favour of the visitors with some early possession and territory coming from a string of penalties being awarded to Withycombe. Unfortunately the boys were unable to convert this possession into points. In fact, it was the home side that struck first. A Withy knock-on was picked up by the Ilfracombe Fullback and weave past the defence and into the corner for an unconverted score after 9min.
This lead wasn't to last long, just 3 minutes later a chip from Paddy Haddad lead to a footrace with the Ilfracombe defender down the wing. With both players landing on the ball as it crossed the try line, it was Paddy that just got there first, giving the Withies their first unconverted score to level the game at 5-5.
Following the restart, it was Ilfracombe that enjoyed the most time with the ball and this paid off as a scrum on the Withy 5m line was cleared out blind, allowing a crash ball to clear through the Withy defenders and score in the corner. The touchline conversion was good.
Withycombe responded immediately once again with what could be the try of the season! Rory Collings broke through the first line of defence and carried the ball out of the Withy half and towards the Ilfracombe 22' before passing in field a little to George Toomey who made a perfectly weighted cross-field kick to the awaiting Ben West on the left wing who caught the ball whilst still running for the line - leaving the home defence for dust to head across the line and dive down under the posts! Hockin slotted the kick to again level the scores.
Soon after the Withies took the lead as a delightful run and chip-kick from Sam Warren was knocked forward from Ilfracombe into the hands of young Fullback Ben Dawson, who took full advantage to pass the butterfingered defender and score under the posts for a converted score. However, in the form of the match there was to be a leveler from Ilfracombe on the stroke of half time as their Fullback Radford Chugg crashed over the line from short distance to bring the first half to an end at 19-19.

The second half got underway with a period of play in the middle of the field until Ben Dawson was given a little bit of room to show some fancy footwork on the wing once again, dipping out of the tackle and twisting to prevent straying into touch, and scarpering towards the line to score once again under the posts for his second try. Hockin once again got the extras.
With this score, the game settled down with the play once again being confined to the middle third and both teams sharing time on the ball. Another twenty minutes would pass before the Withy boys managed to open up the scoreline to more than 7 points for the first time as George Toomey powered over the line in a short-range effort on the right hand side of the field.
By this point, the fitness of the home side started to drop and this gave the Withies the upper hand and they started to command the play a little more in the way they have become accustomed to over the past few weeks. Although this wasn't converted into points it was crucial in preventing a fatigued Ilfracombe from getting any points of their own. The closest they got was a penalty on 70min as a kick to touch was misjudged and the ball drifted out of play past the try line, relieving the pressure for the Withy lads, allowing them to clear their lines once again and ensure the play remained outside of their 22' for the remainder of the game. The final whistle eventually blew with the score at 19-31, earning Withycombe a ninth victory out of a possible nine, giving them an 8 point gap at the top of the table.

Speaking after the game in his coach's comments; Head coach, Sam Williams said: "In truth we were far from our best and the long journey combined with so many changes meant it took us a while to find our rhythm. The second spell saw the pack find some flow and the phase play that has been a feature this year returned, as did our line speed. The game provided an opportunity for several players to get game time, including the return of Jake Watts to the 1st XV in and also for Chris Gibbons to play a full half for the first time since his injury lay-off. Both made significant impacts off the bench, with the set piece and carrying aspects of the game improving with their arrival. What yesterday proved is that there is a good depth to the squad, and that the players understand the game plan, and are moving to a point where regardless of selection we are able to perform consistently".

Next Saturday, the Withies are back at home as they welcome Totnes to Raleigh Park. Kick off there is at 2:30pm.