NEWTON Abbot were overwhelmed 67-19 by Topsham in a one-sided encounter between teams at opposite ends of the South West Two table.

Newton Abbot, stuck fast at the bottom of the pile, were hanging on at 29-12 down to the table-toppers when the half-time whistle went.

Four Topsham tries in the first 10 minutes set the tone for the game.

Cal Westaway and Toby Cox were Newton Abbot’s first-half try scorers. Tom Steer kicked a conversion.

Topsham moved up a gear in the second half, during which they added six more tries to one in reply from Newton. Westaway got on the scoresheet again.

Topsham’s try scorers were James Mattin (2), Henry Batty (2), Finn Mack (2), Ethan Barnaschone, Robin Edbrooke, Shane O’Hanrahan, Austin Crow and Jack Perry. Mattin kicked six conversions.

The game finished with Newton Abbot five metres from the Topsham line, desperately chasing a bonus point try.

Newton Abbot, who are 11 points shy of safety at the wrong end of the table, are at home to North Petherton this Saturday.

NARFC 2nd XV, the Spartans, were also in action but as was the case with the 1st XV, they too suffered defeat.

Exeter Athletic visited the Spartans at Rackerhayes and travelled home with a strong 50-24 win under their belt afterwards.

This was a third victory for Athletic in the Counties 3 Tribute Devon North & East, although a points deduction means they remain below Newton who have only won once. Exeter are now back up to 0 points, ahead of Teignmouth 2nd XV on -13, and NARFC the next team for them to catch.

Whilst Exeter Athletic will host North Tawton this weekend on the 7th, Newton Spartans face a trip to Sidmouth II, who currently sit third in the table with seven wins from their nine games to date.