It was another tough outing for the Quins last Saturday as they travelled to champions elect Crediton and whilst it was another heavy defeat on paper there were large periods of the game when they more than held their own with the best in the league.
The game started ominously for Sidmouth as they went hurtling back at the first scrum under pressure from the much larger Crediton pack. From the resulting penalty the home side kicked to the corner and were 7 points ahead in no time at all. This was to be the pattern for the first 20 minutes as Sidmouth looked good when they had the ball but as soon as it came to the set piece the home side were totally dominant. Two more tries and it was 21-0 with less than a quarter of the game gone.
At this point there was a change of personnel in the front row and Charlie Farrington Smith and Mark Unsworth joined Jack Marchant at the coal face and some parity was restored. With the lineout starting to function as well Sidmouth were finally able to get their hands on the ball and show what they were capable of. The half back pairing of Harvey Green and Charles Edwards started to get things moving and suddenly Crediton had a game on their hands.
It was the Quins who scored next as Lewis Hilliar picked off a looping pass and sprinted away from the covering defence to open Sidmouth’s account, converting his own try.
The remainder of the half was a tight affair but the homeside pulled ahead on the whistle and recorded their 4th try to go in 28-7 at the break.
The Quins came flying out of the traps in the second half making use of the wind and slope in their favour and Liam Turley finished off a fine move to bring the deficit back to 14 pts.
For the next 10 minutes Sidmouth were in the ascendency but were unable to make headway into the opposition half. Whilst the rugby and phase play was excellent it was all just a little too deep on the pitch and when Crediton turned the ball over they found themselves in dangerous positions from which they were able to capitalise.
Two more tries gave the home side an unassailable lead before Hilliar scored his second try of the day from a rare Sidmouth foray in the Crediton half. The exertions of the match showed in the final quarter and resulted in the scoreboard putting a sheen on the match that the Quins would feel was a little harsh.
Crediton will have the chance to wrap up promotion and the title next weekend whilst Sidmouth will head back to the comfort of the Blackmore where they will be entertaining Cullompton II’s and will be looking to take revenge for the cup upset a few weeks ago.
Whilst the season has certainly stuttered over the last few weeks the Quins will head into the final 3 fixtures with the aim of pushing hard to press North Tawton (who they face in their final game) and New Cross (who have to play Crediton and the dangerous Exeter Engineers) for second spot in the league.
Sidmouth II: Jed Reid (Mark Unsworth), Jack Marchant (Chris Otway), Ned Coles, Tom Butler, Charlie Farrington-Smith, Jake Paget, Alfie Collins, Henry Williams (Asa Unsworth), Harvey Green, Charles Edwards, Lewis Hilliar, Jack Hembrow, Liam Turley, Sam Basnett, Joe Tandy (Yan Mercan)
Scorers: L Hilliar (2T, 2C), L Turley (T)
Dukes MOTM: Liam Turley
The game started ominously for Sidmouth as they went hurtling back at the first scrum under pressure from the much larger Crediton pack. From the resulting penalty the home side kicked to the corner and were 7 points ahead in no time at all. This was to be the pattern for the first 20 minutes as Sidmouth looked good when they had the ball but as soon as it came to the set piece the home side were totally dominant. Two more tries and it was 21-0 with less than a quarter of the game gone.
At this point there was a change of personnel in the front row and Charlie Farrington Smith and Mark Unsworth joined Jack Marchant at the coal face and some parity was restored. With the lineout starting to function as well Sidmouth were finally able to get their hands on the ball and show what they were capable of. The half back pairing of Harvey Green and Charles Edwards started to get things moving and suddenly Crediton had a game on their hands.
It was the Quins who scored next as Lewis Hilliar picked off a looping pass and sprinted away from the covering defence to open Sidmouth’s account, converting his own try.
The remainder of the half was a tight affair but the homeside pulled ahead on the whistle and recorded their 4th try to go in 28-7 at the break.
The Quins came flying out of the traps in the second half making use of the wind and slope in their favour and Liam Turley finished off a fine move to bring the deficit back to 14 pts.
For the next 10 minutes Sidmouth were in the ascendency but were unable to make headway into the opposition half. Whilst the rugby and phase play was excellent it was all just a little too deep on the pitch and when Crediton turned the ball over they found themselves in dangerous positions from which they were able to capitalise.
Two more tries gave the home side an unassailable lead before Hilliar scored his second try of the day from a rare Sidmouth foray in the Crediton half. The exertions of the match showed in the final quarter and resulted in the scoreboard putting a sheen on the match that the Quins would feel was a little harsh.
Crediton will have the chance to wrap up promotion and the title next weekend whilst Sidmouth will head back to the comfort of the Blackmore where they will be entertaining Cullompton II’s and will be looking to take revenge for the cup upset a few weeks ago.
Whilst the season has certainly stuttered over the last few weeks the Quins will head into the final 3 fixtures with the aim of pushing hard to press North Tawton (who they face in their final game) and New Cross (who have to play Crediton and the dangerous Exeter Engineers) for second spot in the league.
Sidmouth II: Jed Reid (Mark Unsworth), Jack Marchant (Chris Otway), Ned Coles, Tom Butler, Charlie Farrington-Smith, Jake Paget, Alfie Collins, Henry Williams (Asa Unsworth), Harvey Green, Charles Edwards, Lewis Hilliar, Jack Hembrow, Liam Turley, Sam Basnett, Joe Tandy (Yan Mercan)
Scorers: L Hilliar (2T, 2C), L Turley (T)
Dukes MOTM: Liam Turley
