Second placed Teignmouth were held by a determined Chiefs side in the first half which included Second XV Captain Chris Hughes, stepping up for a rare senior appearance, with his usual partner Shane Jordan also joining him and Anthony Gill moving forward one row to prop due to players being unavailable and they performed superbly in the first period.
The visitors seemed unable to get their game going at all for most of the first half as Wellington dominated territorially but were unable to find the killer pass to break through although centre Danny Lee very nearly did but was just unable to hold the pass
With the home back row of Andy Brown, Hayden Johnson and Chris Kitto closing down any chances the Seasiders tried to create it was up to the Home backs to use the possession they had through Scrum half Matt Parsons and Paddy Dean at the heart of things. However the visitors are not in second place because of a weak defence and they smothered everything that came their way until about ten minutes from the halftime whistle.
American wing, John Myers, ran back to collect a clearance kick, which for once saw play reach the home 22, and from about 10 metres from the home try line he set off on the most amazing run seen at the ground for many years. He shimmied past 3 would be tacklers then danced around another 3 in the midfield splitting open the previously solid wall put up by the visitors. Last but not least the full back was lined up and evaded with a beautifully executed side step at speed which left nothing in front of him but the try line. He proceeded to show exceptional awareness as he realised that he was still being pursued and gently swerved his way to the line to touch down under the posts to a standing ovation from the home crowd. Parsons popped the easiest of conversions through the sticks and Wellington had their thoroughly deserved lead.
Stung by this the visitors started to put in more of a shift and went forward taking advantage of some penalty decisions to win a line out in the Clubhouse Corner. This was won and the ball transferred infield to centre Will Sowden who just managed to get over despite numerous tacklers claiming the ball had not been grounded. Fly half Joe Simmonds converted to even the scores at halftime.
From this point Teignmouth’s half time oranges must have contained some special ingredient as they came out much more positively. It didn’t take long before they took the lead as they mauled their way down the home side’s right wing for centre Chris Tidman to go over for an unconverted try.
He took advantage of a wayward kick for touch by the home side to score another five-pointer shortly afterwards from the halfway line as the home defence faltered.
Next up another penalty against the Red and Blacks in the visitors half was banged to touch on their 22. Teignmouth won the lineout and Sowden sliced through some more indifferent home tackling to go over for another which was this time converted by Simmonds.
The Red and Blacks rallied for a while and with 10 minutes remaining were awarded a couple of penalties themselves which they took quickly and moved the ball wide to the right for Myers to get a second in front of the Clubhouse. Parsons showed his kicking prowess with the conversion from wide out to reduce the difference to just 10 points.
There was no stopping the visitors now however as they returned to the offensive immediately with Sowden generously being allowed the advantage following a home side knock to go through under the posts with Simmonds adding the conversion.
The final act followed with visiting Captain Colin Aldworth finishing a catch and drive from a lineout with just a couple of minutes left.
Next week’s matches:
The Chiefs go to Torquay for their penultimate match in the Western Counties West division still not absolutely mathematically certain of staying up
The Seconds entertain their Chard Counterparts with David Nightingill generously supporting the match to whom the Club is sincerely grateful
Match report & previews: Nick Robins
Second placed Teignmouth were held by a determined Chiefs side in the first half which included Second XV Captain Chris Hughes, stepping up for a rare senior appearance, with his usual partner Shane Jordan also joining him and Anthony Gill moving forward one row to prop due to players being unavailable and they performed superbly in the first period.
The visitors seemed unable to get their game going at all for most of the first half as Wellington dominated territorially but were unable to find the killer pass to break through although centre Danny Lee very nearly did but was just unable to hold the pass.
With the home back row of Andy Brown, Hayden Johnson and Chris Kitto closing down any chances the Seasiders tried to create it was up to the Home backs to use the possession they had through Scrum half Matt Parsons and Paddy Dean at the heart of things. However the visitors are not in second place because of a weak defence and they smothered everything that came their way until about ten minutes from the halftime whistle.
American wing, John Myers, ran back to collect a clearance kick, which for once saw play reach the home 22, and from about 10 metres from the home try line he set off on the most amazing run seen at the ground for many years. He shimmied past 3 would be tacklers then danced around another 3 in the midfield splitting open the previously solid wall put up by the visitors. Last but not least the full back was lined up and evaded with a beautifully executed side step at speed which left nothing in front of him but the try line. He proceeded to show exceptional awareness as he realised that he was still being pursued and gently swerved his way to the line to touch down under the posts to a standing ovation from the home crowd. Parsons popped the easiest of conversions through the sticks and Wellington had their thoroughly deserved lead.
Stung by this the visitors started to put in more of a shift and went forward taking advantage of some penalty decisions to win a line out in the Clubhouse Corner. This was won and the ball transferred infield to centre Will Sowden who just managed to get over despite numerous tacklers claiming the ball had not been grounded. Fly half Joe Simmonds converted to even the scores at halftime.
From this point Teignmouth’s half time oranges must have contained some special ingredient as they came out much more positively. It didn’t take long before they took the lead as they mauled their way down the home side’s right wing for centre Chris Tidman to go over for an unconverted try.
He took advantage of a wayward kick for touch by the home side to score another five-pointer shortly afterwards from the halfway line as the home defence faltered.
Next up another penalty against the Red and Blacks in the visitors half was banged to touch on their 22. Teignmouth won the lineout and Sowden sliced through some more indifferent home tackling to go over for another which was this time converted by Simmonds.
The Red and Blacks rallied for a while and with 10 minutes remaining were awarded a couple of penalties themselves which they took quickly and moved the ball wide to the right for Myers to get a second in front of the Clubhouse. Parsons showed his kicking prowess with the conversion from wide out to reduce the difference to just 10 points.
There was no stopping the visitors now however as they returned to the offensive immediately with Sowden generously being allowed the advantage following a home side knock to go through under the posts with Simmonds adding the conversion.
The final act followed with visiting Captain Colin Aldworth finishing a catch and drive from a lineout with just a couple of minutes left.
Next week’s matches:
The Chiefs go to Torquay for their penultimate match in the Western Counties West division still not absolutely mathematically certain of staying up