Sat 19 Mar 2022

Paignton II

18 - 31

Sidmouth II

Paignton II

Sidmouth II

Paignton 2nds 18 – 31 Sidmouth Quins

The Quins, raring to go after two unplanned fallow weeks, made the trip down the A38 to Queens Park in glorious spring sunshine and completed a league double over The Cherries picking up their second away win of the season in the process.

With no first team game for either club, both teams took the opportunity to bolster the ranks and it was good to see the ‘one club’ ethos going both ways after several regular Quins stepping up to the first team in recent weeks. Hooker Jed Reid showed no sign of rust after 6 weeks on the side-lines, James Salter dominated the lineout all game and Asa Unsworth at Number 8 seemed to relish the freedom away from the confines of the front row.

With a strong wind at their backs, Sidmouth hit the ground running, dominating possession and territory for the first ten minutes. They got their reward when several phases of forward pressure tied in the cover defence, culminating in a try in the corner for wing Jordan Finch on his first start of the season after a long injury lay off. Adam Squance added the conversion from out wide.

Sidmouth’s second try came when several phases of interplay between backs and forwards created a chance for flanker, Connor Preston (not to be confused with either Haydon or Connor Down!), to take the direct route through a covering defender to power over in the corner. Squance was unlucky with the conversion as the wind took his kick just wide of the upright.

Sidmouth 12-0 up, dominating in the scrums and looking in control, were in a good position to kick on and put the result beyond doubt, but as has too often been the case this season, loss of structure and some unforced errors allowed Paignton to get back into the game, scoring a fine team try that covered the width of the field and back again and resulted in a try in the corner for the right winger. The conversion was missed.

Buoyed by the try and a vocal partisan home crowd, Paignton put the pressure on the Sidmouth line but the green wall stood firm, the back row of Preston, Unsworth and James Perchard-Richards leading the way in the tackle count. When one such tackle forced the ball loose, fly half Jake Allen was able to clear his lines and with the help of the aforementioned following wind the ball ended up deep in the Paignton 22. When the isolated Paignton full back slipped, the chasing duo of Tom Osborne and Kade Hayman forced the turnover for Osborne score under the posts. Squance added the conversion making the half time score 19-5 to the men in green.

Sheltering from the wind in the half time huddle, coach Stu Cavin had warned of Paignton’s ability to score tries and get back into the game as they had threatened to in the return fixture earlier in the season.

True to form, Sidmouth had a ten-minutes to forget with numerous unforced errors resulting in a second try for Paignton after a comical exchange between replacement wing Owen Cawood and full back Mark Bishop, when Cawood, mistakenly thinking Bishop had the hamstrings of a younger man, threw a loose pass that allowed the simplest of walk-ins for the Paignton centre. The conversion was added and then followed shortly afterwards with a long-range penalty, making the score 19-15 with 20 minutes left.

After losing captain Tom Butler to injury, Sidmouth needed a spark, and got one when Allen made a break from his own 22, took the play deep into the Paignton half, he found Archie Bagwell in support, but Bagwell’s final pass to Osborne went astray. Spurred on by this, on the next visit into the Paignton 22 good handling created a chance for Squance in the corner, but a cynical deliberate knock-on by the Paignton wing went unpunished and the chance went begging. But Sidmouth weren’t to be denied, and after Unsworth broke from another powerful scrum near the Paignton line the ball was recycled to Preston who showed a good turn of pace and a rare desire to evade the cover tackles rather than go through them and score his second try of the match to cap another fine performance. The conversion went the way of the wind, 24-15 with 10 to go.

Paignton didn’t lie down and set up camp in the Sidmouth half and added another penalty following an infringement at the ruck but the Sidmouth defence, making the score 24-18 and a grandstand finish on the cards. Sure enough Paignton went hunting for the win, using their heavy strike runners to try and punch holes in the Sidmouth midfield, but the Quins defence, with Osborne and Hayman to the fore and showing much better communication and organisation than in the first half, stood firm.

Finally, the defensive pressure told and when the Paignton fly half threw a risky pass near to the Sidmouth line, Jake Allen was on hand to pluck the ball from the air and set off for the Paignton line. As anyone who has done it knows, sprinting the length of the pitch in the 75^th minute of the match, with the cover defence closing in isn’t always a pleasurable experience, but Allen stuck to his task and just about won the race to touch down near the posts, much to the relief of his teammates who had long given up the chase to be in support! Squance added the conversion to make the score 31-18.

With the final whistle imminent, Paignton went on the hunt for a losing bonus point winning a lineout 5 metres from the Sidmouth line, but there was still time for one last steal from Salter allowing Bagwell to kick the ball in to touch and give Sidmouth a well-deserved win.

Man of the match went to Jake Allen, honourable mentions have to go to Connor Preston, Asa Unsworth and Matt Ewings and thanks as ever go to the backroom team of Stu Cavin, Jamie Wride, Bob Baugh and Mike Dance.

Next week the Quins have a week off as some familiar faces from the recent (and not so recent!) past return to the Blackmore for a Veterans game against Exeter Saracens as part of the celebrations of 50 years of junior rugby at Sidmouth RFC. Kick-off is 2.30.