Tribute Devon Two

Salcombe welcomed an in-form Dartmouth side to a soggy Two­meads for the Saturday league encounter.

The Riversiders have already won both of their league games with bonus points and sit at the top of the league, so the Crabs knew they were in for a tough game from the start.

A large crowd braved the wet and windy weather to watch the two local rivals go head to head, rather then sit indoors to watch the international games in the warmth.

On paper this should have been a closely run game, but while one team turned up and performed to their ability, sadly the host team put in a disappointing performance and were well beaten.

Playing into the wind in the first half, Salcombe quickly found themselves seven points down after the Dartmouth centre found a gap in Salcombe’s midfield to run in under the posts.

Shortly after the restart, Salcombe’s fly-half Ashley Treeby took a heavy knock and had to be replaced, which caused a few positional adjustments for the home side.

Dartmouth were finding field position with ease and Salcombe were defending for most of the first half.

Further scores were added through Dart­mouth’s well-polished line-out catch-and-drives and through their dominant scrum platform.

With the bonus point wrapped up midway through the first half, Salcombe found themselves scrapping for any loose ball they could find and attacking chances were rare.

Number eight Scott Lowry and scrum-half Marcus Bromwich have to be commended for the way they dealt with loose ball at the base of the scrum while Jack Davey, who switched to fly-half, never looked out of place and tackled like a back row forward.

In truth Salcombe rarely threatened Dartmouth’s line with any significant pressure and found the ball hard to come by, with the set piece being dominated by the away side.

While Salcombe slipped off more tackles then they possibly should have, the team showed committment and resilience to not allow Dartmouth a totally free rein. By the end of the afternoon Dartmouth had managed to put nine tries on the board with just the two conversions.

Salcombe can feel disappointed with certain aspects of their game that will need improvement before next week, but they will also feel pleased with how the players responded to switching positions when key players were injured.

If the Crabs can find a platform to get the ball wide to their two talented wingers Kie­ron Clarke and Jake Winterbottom then they will certainly score some points.

However, as always in rugby, it’s the forwards who win the game and the backs who decide by how much.

The team would like to thank the supporters for the encouragement and support they received during and after the game and to Mark Vallance Ground­works, who kindly sponsored the polo shirts. Tomorrow sees the Crabs travel to Ply­mouth to face DHSOB at Stonehouse Creek.