Whilst the scoreline looks decisive the reality was that this was a game that slipped away from Sidmouth and could have easily been a victory. Unfortunately a spate of mistakes and missed opportunities in the first half and an inability to deal with the physicality of a lively Okehampton pack meant that it was the home side who took a maximum 5 points.
Playing with the slope and breeze in the first half Sidmouth dominated the opening exchanges and spent plenty of time in the Okehampton half. But some loose play and a flurry of penalties saw the home side get a foothold in the Sidmouth 22, and the big Okey forwards needed no second invitation to lay siege to the Sidmouth line and after a number of hard hitting phases they opened the scoring with a try from their prop forward.
This sparked Sidmouth into life and they grabbed hold of the game. A dangerous high hit on Olly Marsh was lucky to only warrant a yellow card and Sidmouth made the most of the 1 man advantage. First Harvey Green snaffled an overthrown lineout and beat three covering defenders on his way to the line, before James Docherty squeezed through a gap out wide following a series of composed attacks.
Having wrestled control of the game further opportunities came and went but a lack of composure in the 22 and a couple of unlucky bounces for Sam Heathcote meant that the Quins were not able to add to their lead.
Sidmouth were made to pay for their profligacy as Okey bundled their way back into the Sidmouth 22 and promptly crossed the whitewash again to level the scores at 12-12 after 35 minutes.
With all the advantages at their disposal Sidmouth had to be ahead at halftime if they were to have any chance of winning the game and to their credit they did manage to regroup and cross for their third try as Cian Warren powered his way through 3 tacklers to give Docherty an easy conversion and Sidmouth a 19-12 lead at the break.
To say that the second half did not go to plan would be a significant understatement. Within 5 minutes a charged down kick saw the Okey fly half level the scores and the home side never looked back. Their big forwards asserted their dominance, aided by the slope and wind and as the game wore on their wide players found more and more success in the wide channels as a number of injuries in the Sidmouth backline saw numerous players have to move out of position.
Okehampton scored 28 unanswered points in the second half and Sidmouth barely made it to the home 22. However the game was not without its silver linings, Jack Hirst made a real impact on debut and Asa Unsworth put in a huge shift in difficult circumstances. As did his evergreen dad Mark who yet again defied old father time to put himself about in uncompromising fashion.
Things don’t get much easier for the Quins as next weekend sees them travel to top of the table and champions elect Crediton for a 2.30pm kick off.
Sidmouth II: Chris Otway (Mark Unsworth), Jack Marchant (Jack Hirst), Ned Coles, Nick Mills, Charlie Farrington-Smith, Kyle Baker, James Salter, Olly Marsh (Asa Unsworth), Harvey Green, James Docherty (Cam Grainger-Evans), Sam Heathcote, Scott Henderson, Cian Warren, Tom Price (Lewis Hilliar), Adam Squance
Scorers: H Green (T), C Warren (T) J Docherty (T, 2C)
Playing with the slope and breeze in the first half Sidmouth dominated the opening exchanges and spent plenty of time in the Okehampton half. But some loose play and a flurry of penalties saw the home side get a foothold in the Sidmouth 22, and the big Okey forwards needed no second invitation to lay siege to the Sidmouth line and after a number of hard hitting phases they opened the scoring with a try from their prop forward.
This sparked Sidmouth into life and they grabbed hold of the game. A dangerous high hit on Olly Marsh was lucky to only warrant a yellow card and Sidmouth made the most of the 1 man advantage. First Harvey Green snaffled an overthrown lineout and beat three covering defenders on his way to the line, before James Docherty squeezed through a gap out wide following a series of composed attacks.
Having wrestled control of the game further opportunities came and went but a lack of composure in the 22 and a couple of unlucky bounces for Sam Heathcote meant that the Quins were not able to add to their lead.
Sidmouth were made to pay for their profligacy as Okey bundled their way back into the Sidmouth 22 and promptly crossed the whitewash again to level the scores at 12-12 after 35 minutes.
With all the advantages at their disposal Sidmouth had to be ahead at halftime if they were to have any chance of winning the game and to their credit they did manage to regroup and cross for their third try as Cian Warren powered his way through 3 tacklers to give Docherty an easy conversion and Sidmouth a 19-12 lead at the break.
To say that the second half did not go to plan would be a significant understatement. Within 5 minutes a charged down kick saw the Okey fly half level the scores and the home side never looked back. Their big forwards asserted their dominance, aided by the slope and wind and as the game wore on their wide players found more and more success in the wide channels as a number of injuries in the Sidmouth backline saw numerous players have to move out of position.
Okehampton scored 28 unanswered points in the second half and Sidmouth barely made it to the home 22. However the game was not without its silver linings, Jack Hirst made a real impact on debut and Asa Unsworth put in a huge shift in difficult circumstances. As did his evergreen dad Mark who yet again defied old father time to put himself about in uncompromising fashion.
Things don’t get much easier for the Quins as next weekend sees them travel to top of the table and champions elect Crediton for a 2.30pm kick off.
Sidmouth II: Chris Otway (Mark Unsworth), Jack Marchant (Jack Hirst), Ned Coles, Nick Mills, Charlie Farrington-Smith, Kyle Baker, James Salter, Olly Marsh (Asa Unsworth), Harvey Green, James Docherty (Cam Grainger-Evans), Sam Heathcote, Scott Henderson, Cian Warren, Tom Price (Lewis Hilliar), Adam Squance
Scorers: H Green (T), C Warren (T) J Docherty (T, 2C)
