WITH another season almost over the last home match was upon Teignmouth RFC’s men, writes Judi Hellier.

It started well for Teigns at Bitton Park against Okehampton with the likes of Jack Mayne and George Franklin making a difference in defence.

Great hands across the Teignmouth line forced Okey into a high tackle and they took this opportunity to kickstart the scoring. Mayne stepped up and slotted the penalty for 3-0.

Another penalty followed shortly after the centre made it two from two with the tee, the hosts going 6-0 up.

Teignmouth put on a lot of pressure in defence but Okehampton were able to make their way through for the first try of the game. The conversion was missed so Teigns remained narrowly ahead.

Okey passing across the pitch then set up a second try of the game on the far wing, 6-10.

Teigns won a lineout of their own only to then have the ball stolen and Okehampton didn’t mess about in crossing again, a first conversion of the game making it 6-17.

There was no further scoring before the break but it was Teignmouth who got on the board first in the second half. From a penalty, they kicked down the field for a lineout which they won and Jamie Gray was on hand to score a first home try of the game. Converted by Mayne to reduce the deficit to four points.

Okehampton quickly came back with a converted try of their own after stealing the ball from a lineout they had originally lost, 13-24.

Stolen balls continued to be the theme with Okehampton winning their own scrum and yet still conceding, Scott-Hooper crossing to make it 18-24.

Okey scored the final try of the game to deny Teignmouth a losing bonus point and to level off the final score at 18-31. Prop Jake Wright was the Teigns’ man of the match.

Teignmouth’s season concludes on Saturday, April 5 with a trip to Winscombe. Alongside Truro and local rivals Newton Abbot, they are battling to stay away from the bottom two and avoid relegation.

The following day it was the turn of the women and they travelled to Kingsbridge.

This was a game that saw possession switch back and forth between the two teams, knock-ons and fierce rucking the cause.

Teignmouth were firmly up for the battle but it was Kingsbridge who opened the scoring, a speedy player kicking over the top and meeting it herself to cross the white line for 7-0.

A series of kicks followed and on the final one, Kingsbridge found a gap on the wing and scored another converted try, 14-0.

With an advantage on their side, Teigns entered the danger zone but an eventual knock-on saw them squander the opportunity. It was the home side who scored next though, Enya Humphries pulling off an interception and charging under the posts. Ceindeg Evans made no mistake with the two extra points.

Teignmouth kicked off the back of a scrum and after securing Kingsbridge flew forward for an unconverted try. Two quick-fire scores followed to take the game out of the reach of the Teigns who suffered injuries along the way.

Resolute defending denied Kingsbridge a runaway win but they did score once more to win 34-7 on their travels.

Forward of the match went to Ellen Vernel and back of the match to Enya Humphries.