Newton Abbot RFC 1st XV 35 Cullompton RFC 38

NEWTON Abbot RFC 1st XV were left devastated as they lost their weekend fixture in the final seconds.

Both teams went flying out of the blocks and before you knew it, Cullompton crossed the line in the corner and took a 7-0 lead.

Missed tackles allowed Cully to open the scoring but Newton hit back on home soil with a pair of converted tries of their own, flipping the game on its head.

Mike Saxton, the Director of Rugby at Rackerhayes, spoke after the game saying, “The first three quarters were cracking- I thought we dominated that period” and Calum Westaway was on hand to make this count. The NARFC centre got over in front of the posts after some strong carries from his teammates and Tom Steer slotted a third-consecutive conversion.

Cully responded with a try of their own after a quickfire penalty was taken in their opponent’s 22 and now at 21-14, the referee had a first big decision to make. The visitor’s number eight went flying into a ruck with no arms in the clear-out whatsoever so the yellow card that followed was hardly a surprise.

It was Newton Abbot who struck first after the break courtesy of hooker Jack Sealey, he dove over the white line to make the early pressure count and restore the two-try advantage.

Talking of advantages and not long after Cullompton were restored to the full 15-man compliment, the home team picked up a yellow card of their own with George Heath failing to let a Cully player back to their feet.

Just moments later, the man difference shone through as Cully notched five points but for the first time in the afternoon, the subsequent two points were squandered.

Flanker Sam Green was then more than happy to charge down a Cullompton kick and dive on the loose ball before it rolled dead, taking Newton’s lead to 35-19.

Saxton commented, "We’ve thrown it away really in not sticking to the basic field tactics” and from this point on, that became apparent.

Extended periods of Cully pressure saw two of their forwards get in on the scoring and with both conversions slotted, Newton’s buffer now stood at just two points with five or so minutes remaining. The young scrum-half passed up the opportunity for a penalty in front of the sticks to win it but his teammate’s dismay quickly moved on when they scored in the corner. The kick was missed but it proved immaterial as the official’s final whistle sounded.

Saxton highlighted just how young his side is, saying, “We’ve just got to click and when the experience comes we’ll start tearing teams apart”, something which seems perfectly plausible, adding “I’m looking forward to going down to Truro next, I think they’re a team we’ve got to go away and get points from.”