Another weekend and another bonus point win for Sidmouth 2nds as they came
away with all 5pts from their trip to Exeter Athletic, but the score doesn’t quite tell the
full story. Athletic provided a much sterner test than Cullompton the week before, but
in the end Sidmouth had enough quality to get the job done.
In the first 15 minutes it was all Sidmouth as they settled quickly into their stride with
some slick handling moves conducted by half back Charles Edwards and Lewis
Stuart seeing Sam Heathcote and Sam Basnett going over for early tries to give
Sidmouth a 0-12 lead.
A run of penalties gave the big Athletic pack some field position and they didn’t need
a second invitation to bundle themselves over the line from close range against the
run of play.
The Sidmouth front row of Richie Hull, Chris Otway and Charlie Farrington-Smith
had the upper hand in the scrums with able assistance from Will Cockayne-Cottrell
and Tom Butler in the second row. And whilst the game became somewhat scrappy
the hard hitting of Alfie Keats and Sam Bryant in the back row kept Atheltic’s
progress on the gain line to an absolute minimum.
Whilst Sidmouth were making it hard for themselves by struggling in the lineout and
in keeping on the right side of the referee at the breakdown, when they did get the
ball they looked irresistible. A sharp piece of work from turnover ball saw Basnett go
over for his second of the match and stretch the lead. But again Athletic’s big pack
got them back in the game by rumbling over for another try just before half time. But
their joy was short lived as in the closing moments their winger completely lost his
head, and left the referee with no choice but to show a red card, with Ben Fisher
getting a yellow for alleged provoking the barrage of punches that came his way.
Skipper Alfie Collins was controlled in his half time pep talk, knowing that if Sidmouth
could just concentrate on the things they do well then the result would come.
The second half was a slow burner with Sidmouth under early pressure, but a superb
individual score from Jack Hembrow took them to 12-24, only for the home side to
come straight back at them as a loose ball off a lineout was snaffled up by the
Atheltic back row to bring the game to within 1 score with 20 minutes on the clock.
But it was in the final 20 minutes minutes that Sidmouth really came to life as the
impact of the half time substitutes Harry Wood, Ned Coles, Jake Paget, Matt Ewings
and James Docherty gave Sidmouth a freshness that the 14 men of Athletic just
couldn’t keep up with.
As the Sidmouth pack achieved complete dominance in the set piece the backs saw
put Athletic to the sword. Alex Clemo-Crosby added some spark at 9 and Ben Fisher
was put into space to stretch the lead, before Edwards (now positioned on the wing)
scored a brilliant solo try from half way following a loose Athletic clearing kick.

It was left to man of the match Basnett to round off his hat-trick with the final play of
the game to put a deserved sheen on a solid but unspectacular performance. The
only low point of the game was a nasty looking ankle injury to Sam Heathcote, who
was looking sharp again on the wing, which all at Sidmouth hope was not as bad as
it looked.
Next weeks sees another big challenge as Sidmouth face Exeter Engineers at the
Blackmore in what promises to be a fast and open game.
Team: Richie Hull, Chris Otway, Charlie Farrington-Smith (Ned Coles), Tom Butler
(Harry Wood), Will Cockayne-Cottrell, Alfie Collins (c), Sam Bryant (Jake Paget),
Alfie Keats (Matt Ewings), Charles Edwards, Lewis Stuart, Sam Heathcote (James
Docherty), Jack Hembrow, Sam Basnett, Alex Clemo-Crosby, Ben Fisher
Scorers: Sam Basnett (3T), Sam Heathcote (T), Jack Hembrow (T), Ben Fisher (T),
Charles Edwards (T), Lewis Stuart (2c), James Docherty (2c)