Teignmouth 12 Newent 17
On the day that Adrian Potrykus made his international debut for Poland against Portugal, his erstwhile team mates at Newent RFC made the trip to South Devon to face Teignmouth in a Tribute South West One (West) match. However, rather than the sun and warmth of the Algarve, they were met by a misty and murky damp day at the Bitton Park Sports Ground and a muddy looking pitch.
Newent came into the game on the back on a hard-won victory over St Ives to secure fourth place in the division. The forward pack featured a strong second row pairing of Toby Freeman and Russell Upton supported by the usual back row combination of Fred Nottingham, George Phelps and Ross Webb. In the backs the Ashleworth axis of Gellert and Mansfield were reunited in the centre. The bench included Joe Goatley, available to steady the ship in the second half if necessary. Teignmouth on the other hand found themselves far too near the bottom of the table for comfort following a difficult encounter at Lydney the previous week. Understandably the Newent travelling support were optimistic about another away victory.
The opening quarter of the match saw Newent dominate both possession and territory and the game was played exclusively in the Teignmouth half of the pitch, other than a clearing Teignmouth kick upfield which went long allowing Newent to restart with a scrum on half way. However, Newent found themselves up against a resolute defence and there were frequent stoppages following knock-ons in the tackle. From a scrum near half way Newent made a strong break down the down the right wing with quick interplay between the backs. However, the attack was held up when the referee stopped played when Nathan Brooks took a heavy blow in the tackle. Play restarted with a scrum to Newent 15 metres out and the ball was moved across field. Ethan Harris made a strong break but was held up, but George Phelps was on hand to cross the line in the corner to open the scoring. The conversion was missed from a difficult angle leaving the score at 0-5 to Newent on 20 minutes.
The second quarter of the game was a much more evenly contested affair. Teignmouth came close to scoring following a line out in their own half. A kick downfield from their fly half was well chased by the home backs and only an excellent try saving tackle from Brett Gardner just short of the try line halted the attack. From the following line out James Dean was able to make a long clearing up field. On 35 minutes a penalty to Newent was kicked to touch by James Dean. Chris Steward’s throw was cleanly taken in the line and the ball was quickly fed out across the pitch allowing Will Mansfield to score in the corner. The conversion was missed taking the score to 0-10.
Soon after, there was a lengthy hold up following a head injury to Fred Nottingham. The hard working No 6 was forced to leave the field and was taken to Exeter hospital where an x-ray revealed a broken jaw. He was replaced by Leo Oakley, and shortly the first half was ended by yet another knock-on, with Newent deservedly in the lead 0-10.
The second half started in a similar manner to the first. Newent possession and territory were thwarted by some effective tackling from Teignmouth and frequent handling errors. On 45 minutes Joe Goatley replaced Jack Guy slotting in at his accustomed fly half position. Nathan Brooks moved to full back and Brett Gardner to left wing. A long kick up field was chased up the wing by Brett Gardner forcing the Teignmouth fly half to clear hurriedly to touch. Newent took the line out and drove upfield. Teignmouth were penalised for what appeared to be a hand in the ruck and James Dean kicked the penalty to the corner. From the 5-metre line-out the ball came out to Tommy Devries. His strong run was held up, but the ball was kept alive by George Phelps and was fed out across field to Charlie Gellert who made a characteristically strong run in from 10 metres to score to the left of the posts. Joe Goatley added the extras to take the score to 0-17 on 50 minutes. Shortly afterwards, Jack Devries replaced George Phelps in the back row.
At this point in the game Newent appeared to be on course for try bonus point victory. However, the final 20 minutes proved to be a very different game. The heavier Teignmouth forwards playing down the slope towards a vocal contingent of former players increasingly gained the upper hand. From a line out close to the 25-metre line, a well-executed maul drove over the Newent line for a forwards’ try which was converted by their fly half, Foalan Lidstone, moving the score to 7-17 on 63 minutes.
Teignmouth maintained the pressure but were kept out by some strong tackling in which Russell Upton was prominent. The penalty count against Newent was increasing and with ten minutes to go, with the referee apparently playing advantage, the Teignmouth centre Matt Laventure touched down over the line. However, the try was disallowed, and play was brought back for a home scrum. Before the scrum could take place, Chris Steward was shown a yellow card, presumably for some technical offence in the previous phase of play, resulting in uncontested scums for the remainder of the game. In spite of stout defence with one man short, the Teignmouth pressure finally told, and the home team scored to the right of the posts. What appeared to be relatively straight forward conversion was missed so with five minutes to play Newent found themselves with only a five-point lead at 12-17.
The final five minutes of the match was a frantic affair with Newent repelling Teignmouth attacks in a manner which typifies the spirit within the team. Finally, on 80 minutes James Dean fielded a kick from the Teignmouth fly half and kicked to touch. The referee indicated there was still time to play and the home team took the line out. They mounted a threatening attack which was stopped by a double tackle from Russell Upton and Charlie Gellert forcing a knock on. From the uncontested scum, Newent kicked the ball into touch to bring the game to an end. Although both players and supporters will have been relieved to hear the final whistle, everyone’s thoughts will have been with Fred Nottingham and hopes for his speedy recovery.
Final score – Teignmouth 12 Newent 17
The away victory maintains Newent in fourth place in the division following Bridgwater’s victory against Lydney to keep them in third place. With a free Saturday next week, the scene is now set for a tasty encounter between Newent and Bridgwater at the Stade de Rec on Saturday 2nd March.
Teignmouth RFC have been a welcoming and friendly rugby club to visit over the last four years and games between the two clubs have been played in the true spirt of rugby. It came as no surprise therefore to read a genuinely heartfelt tribute to both Mike Poole and John Moore in their programme. Teignmouth have a fight on their hands to avoid relegation, and I am sure many Newent supporters will hope that the club secures enough points to remain in the division so an away trip to Bitton Park remains in the fixture list for next season.
Scorers – Tries 3 – George Phelps, Will Mansfield, Charlie Gellert. Conversions 1 – Joe Goatley.
Team – Brett Gardner, Tommy Devries, Will Mansfield, Charlie Gellert, Jack Guy, Nathan Brooks, James Dean, Ethan Harris, Nathan Awford, Chris Steward, Russell Upton, Toby Freeman, Fred Nottingham, George Phelps, Ross Webb (C) Replacements – Leo Oakley, Jack Devries, Joe Goatley.