The Quins started the New Year with a bang as they recorded a thumping 7-41 victory away at Exeter Athletic. 7 tries from 7 different scorers gave Sidmouth the perfect start to 2025 as they continue to chase down League leaders Crediton.
Sidmouth showed no signs of rust despite having not played at all in December due to cancellations and rearrangements, and they casually shrugged off the fact that due to injury and unavailability they were not able to field a full 20 man squad, with only two on the bench. There was another sign of just how deep the current Sidmouth senior squad is as James Ogley and colt Harvey Hannay, on debut, put in outstanding performances whilst the return of James Salter added skill and experience to the forward pack.
Sidmouth started quickly and had the home side on the back foot from the off. Athletic were struggling with the pace of the Quins game a number of penalties gave Sidmouth the field position from which they spread the ball wide to the mercurial and evergreen Dan Retter who stepped the covering defence to open the scoring. Skipper James Docherty adding the extras from the touchline.
A second try came shortly after as yet more penalties from the home side allowed Sidmouth to set up a lineout 5m from the home line and after a composed drive, two quick phases saw Harry Backway snipe over from short range.
The big Athletic pack were proving a handful at scrum time but the Sidmouth front five of Chris Otway, Backway, Ned Coles, Alfie Collins and Hannay held firm throughout the first half. In truth, if the home side had spent more time trying to drive straight they may have had more success than simply spinning the scrum round from their tighthead side.
Quins added a third try midway through the first half as Harvey Green came off his wing to unbelievably beat 6 or 7 defenders inside the 15m channel to dot down in the corner. 17-0 to the Quins
The remainder of the first half was a frustrating affair with numerous penalties on both sides disrupting the flow of the game which stopped Quins from continuing their free flowing rugby whilst Athletic’s limited forward based power game was not capable of breaking down the rabid Quins defence, led as usual by Jake Paget on the openside flank ably assisted by Scott Henderson on the blindside who was a constant thorn in their side.
Against the run of play it was Athletic who opened the scoring in the second half as a neat chip from their outside half fell kindly for the outside centre who beat the covering defence. But the Quins showed shrugged it off quickly to boost their lead with Jack Hembrow capping yet another excellent display at inside centre with a powerful finish from short range.
With the bonus point secured the middle section of the second half Sidmouth emptied the bench and Charlie Farrington-Smith and Adam Squance came on to replace Otway and Green. And t was in this period that Quins showed the other side of their game as they were reduced to 13 men, with first Docherty and then scrum half Charles Edwards seeing yellow as punishment for the whole sides failure to deal with the referee’s interpretation of the new tackle height rules.
Despite their numerical advantage Athletic were unable to add any points during the 15 minute period thanks to a relentless defensive display. Indeed whilst down to 13 men some slick handling saw Man of the Match Ogley finish a fine move to put the result beyond doubt as Sidmouth opened up a 20 point lead with 15 minutes to go.
Once returned to 15 men Sidmouth took control of the game and dominated territory and possession in the final quarter and registered two more tries. The first through Alfie Collins, sauntering through a huge gap left by the flagging Athletic defence, whilst the second came from an audacious attack from a scrum 10 metres from the Sidmouth line as Docherty chipped the ball over the on rushing home defence for Sam Basnett to collect and run fully 70 metres to cap a fine all round display.
The 11 team league means the Quins have yet another fallow week next weekend before back to back home games against Tiverton and Newton Abbot to finish off January.
Sidmouth II: Ned Coles, Harry Backway, Chris Otway (Charlie Farrington-Smith), Harvey Hannay, Alfie Collins, Scott Henderson, Jake Paget, James Salter, Charles Edwards James Docherty, Sam Basnett, Jack Hembrow, James Ogley, Harvey Green (Adam Squance), Dan Retter
Scorers: D Retter (t), H Backway (t), H Green (t), J Hembrow (t), J Ogley (t), A Collins (t), S Basnett (t), J Docherty (3c)
Man of the Match: James Ogley
Sidmouth showed no signs of rust despite having not played at all in December due to cancellations and rearrangements, and they casually shrugged off the fact that due to injury and unavailability they were not able to field a full 20 man squad, with only two on the bench. There was another sign of just how deep the current Sidmouth senior squad is as James Ogley and colt Harvey Hannay, on debut, put in outstanding performances whilst the return of James Salter added skill and experience to the forward pack.
Sidmouth started quickly and had the home side on the back foot from the off. Athletic were struggling with the pace of the Quins game a number of penalties gave Sidmouth the field position from which they spread the ball wide to the mercurial and evergreen Dan Retter who stepped the covering defence to open the scoring. Skipper James Docherty adding the extras from the touchline.
A second try came shortly after as yet more penalties from the home side allowed Sidmouth to set up a lineout 5m from the home line and after a composed drive, two quick phases saw Harry Backway snipe over from short range.
The big Athletic pack were proving a handful at scrum time but the Sidmouth front five of Chris Otway, Backway, Ned Coles, Alfie Collins and Hannay held firm throughout the first half. In truth, if the home side had spent more time trying to drive straight they may have had more success than simply spinning the scrum round from their tighthead side.
Quins added a third try midway through the first half as Harvey Green came off his wing to unbelievably beat 6 or 7 defenders inside the 15m channel to dot down in the corner. 17-0 to the Quins
The remainder of the first half was a frustrating affair with numerous penalties on both sides disrupting the flow of the game which stopped Quins from continuing their free flowing rugby whilst Athletic’s limited forward based power game was not capable of breaking down the rabid Quins defence, led as usual by Jake Paget on the openside flank ably assisted by Scott Henderson on the blindside who was a constant thorn in their side.
Against the run of play it was Athletic who opened the scoring in the second half as a neat chip from their outside half fell kindly for the outside centre who beat the covering defence. But the Quins showed shrugged it off quickly to boost their lead with Jack Hembrow capping yet another excellent display at inside centre with a powerful finish from short range.
With the bonus point secured the middle section of the second half Sidmouth emptied the bench and Charlie Farrington-Smith and Adam Squance came on to replace Otway and Green. And t was in this period that Quins showed the other side of their game as they were reduced to 13 men, with first Docherty and then scrum half Charles Edwards seeing yellow as punishment for the whole sides failure to deal with the referee’s interpretation of the new tackle height rules.
Despite their numerical advantage Athletic were unable to add any points during the 15 minute period thanks to a relentless defensive display. Indeed whilst down to 13 men some slick handling saw Man of the Match Ogley finish a fine move to put the result beyond doubt as Sidmouth opened up a 20 point lead with 15 minutes to go.
Once returned to 15 men Sidmouth took control of the game and dominated territory and possession in the final quarter and registered two more tries. The first through Alfie Collins, sauntering through a huge gap left by the flagging Athletic defence, whilst the second came from an audacious attack from a scrum 10 metres from the Sidmouth line as Docherty chipped the ball over the on rushing home defence for Sam Basnett to collect and run fully 70 metres to cap a fine all round display.
The 11 team league means the Quins have yet another fallow week next weekend before back to back home games against Tiverton and Newton Abbot to finish off January.
Sidmouth II: Ned Coles, Harry Backway, Chris Otway (Charlie Farrington-Smith), Harvey Hannay, Alfie Collins, Scott Henderson, Jake Paget, James Salter, Charles Edwards James Docherty, Sam Basnett, Jack Hembrow, James Ogley, Harvey Green (Adam Squance), Dan Retter
Scorers: D Retter (t), H Backway (t), H Green (t), J Hembrow (t), J Ogley (t), A Collins (t), S Basnett (t), J Docherty (3c)
Man of the Match: James Ogley
