Sat 14 Sep 2024
Following the opening weekend’s win in horrendous conditions against North Tawton at Sidford, the Quins found themselves in glorious conditions at the Blackmore to welcome Okehampton II’s on Saturday afternoon.
Whilst the weather conditions may have been completely different the outcome was the same as the Quins romped to a 6 try bonus point win over the visitors to leave them joint top of the table with a maximum 10 points. This was despite the fact that Neil Barratt kept up his record of getting injured in every warm up this season, and whilst he was able to shake off the dislocated finger last week a tweaked hamstring defied him this time out.
The match started with Sidmouth playing up the hill against a formidable looking Okehampton lineup. What soon became apparent was that whilst Okehampton’s size was undoubtedly going to cause a few issues for the home side, particularly up front, Sidmouth’s fast flowing style and pacey backline was to be much more of a problem for the visitors.
There were two early scores as first a break from captain James Docherty saw Ryan Davies run a perfect support line go under the sticks, before some elusive tackling from Docherty blotted his copybook as Okehampton responded in kind, although they inexplicably shanked the kick from under the posts, 7-5 to Sidmouth after 10 minutes.
Sidmouth were enjoying the best of the territory and possession and Jack Hembrow, at inside centre, was regularly beating the defence to get the home side on the front foot. From one such run Sidmouth launched an audacious attack from inside their own half as Joe Tandy put fullback Tom Price in space he seared through the gap before drawing the last man and giving Sam Basnett a 40 yard run to the line. Docherty converted and later put over a penalty to give Sidmouth a 17-5 half time lead.
As the sun continued to beat down in the second half Sidmouth flourished as Okehampton started to struggle. The young bucks in the pack came to the fore as Jake Paget, Ned Coles and Jack Marchant gave their opposite men the run around which provided more quick ball for Sidmouth’s backline to make serious in roads.
It was through the pack that the next try came as a well executed rolling maul saw Chris Otway emerge from the pile up with the ball firmly in his grasp.
Whilst Okehampton were working hard to make metres against an aggressive Sidmouth defence, the homes side were making regular and steady progress in attack through a mixture of well executed kicks and great running lines. The bonus point try appeared just after the hour mark as scrum half Ben Fisher darted down the blindside from a scrum and fed replacement full back Harry Guy. Having sized up his opposite man Guy simply flicked the switch and glided past him to go under the posts.
Okehampton didn’t lie down and they came back strongly with their powerful forwards laying siege to the Sidmouth line following a number of penalties. Eventually they broke the home side’s defences to narrow the lead to 31-12.
The final 10 minutes saw three more tries as first Price and then Tandy flashed through the tiring Okehampton defence to complete Sidmouth’s scoring for the day and secure the victory, but not before the visitors rumbled over for a consolation score despite the efforts of Charlie Farrington-Smith who made a huge hit on one of the big Okey forwards.
The opening two games for the Quins have been a marked improvement from last season and there is little doubt that the mix of senior players with a huge influx of last years incredibly talented Devon Cup winning Colts side is paying dividends. The next test comes away at Teignmouth II’s on Saturday.
Whilst the weather conditions may have been completely different the outcome was the same as the Quins romped to a 6 try bonus point win over the visitors to leave them joint top of the table with a maximum 10 points. This was despite the fact that Neil Barratt kept up his record of getting injured in every warm up this season, and whilst he was able to shake off the dislocated finger last week a tweaked hamstring defied him this time out.
The match started with Sidmouth playing up the hill against a formidable looking Okehampton lineup. What soon became apparent was that whilst Okehampton’s size was undoubtedly going to cause a few issues for the home side, particularly up front, Sidmouth’s fast flowing style and pacey backline was to be much more of a problem for the visitors.
There were two early scores as first a break from captain James Docherty saw Ryan Davies run a perfect support line go under the sticks, before some elusive tackling from Docherty blotted his copybook as Okehampton responded in kind, although they inexplicably shanked the kick from under the posts, 7-5 to Sidmouth after 10 minutes.
Sidmouth were enjoying the best of the territory and possession and Jack Hembrow, at inside centre, was regularly beating the defence to get the home side on the front foot. From one such run Sidmouth launched an audacious attack from inside their own half as Joe Tandy put fullback Tom Price in space he seared through the gap before drawing the last man and giving Sam Basnett a 40 yard run to the line. Docherty converted and later put over a penalty to give Sidmouth a 17-5 half time lead.
As the sun continued to beat down in the second half Sidmouth flourished as Okehampton started to struggle. The young bucks in the pack came to the fore as Jake Paget, Ned Coles and Jack Marchant gave their opposite men the run around which provided more quick ball for Sidmouth’s backline to make serious in roads.
It was through the pack that the next try came as a well executed rolling maul saw Chris Otway emerge from the pile up with the ball firmly in his grasp.
Whilst Okehampton were working hard to make metres against an aggressive Sidmouth defence, the homes side were making regular and steady progress in attack through a mixture of well executed kicks and great running lines. The bonus point try appeared just after the hour mark as scrum half Ben Fisher darted down the blindside from a scrum and fed replacement full back Harry Guy. Having sized up his opposite man Guy simply flicked the switch and glided past him to go under the posts.
Okehampton didn’t lie down and they came back strongly with their powerful forwards laying siege to the Sidmouth line following a number of penalties. Eventually they broke the home side’s defences to narrow the lead to 31-12.
The final 10 minutes saw three more tries as first Price and then Tandy flashed through the tiring Okehampton defence to complete Sidmouth’s scoring for the day and secure the victory, but not before the visitors rumbled over for a consolation score despite the efforts of Charlie Farrington-Smith who made a huge hit on one of the big Okey forwards.
The opening two games for the Quins have been a marked improvement from last season and there is little doubt that the mix of senior players with a huge influx of last years incredibly talented Devon Cup winning Colts side is paying dividends. The next test comes away at Teignmouth II’s on Saturday.
