Exmouth 16 - 14 Brixham
Based on their previous two visits the Brixham players must always arrive at the Imperial Ground thinking they have more than half a chance of beating the Cockles and at half time who would have disagreed with them. During the first half Exmouth had one of their poorest forty minutes of rugby for a long while and they allowed the visitors to dominate the game with a succession of penalties coupled with poor basic skills. Not unlike last week’s game at Yatton the second half was a different matter when they totally outplayed the Fishermen and in the end the match programme should have carried a health warning as the last ten minutes left supporters of both sides barely able to stand the pressure.
Within three minutes of the start Exmouth infringed at the ruck on their own 22 and centre Phil Maddick had no problem in converting the three points. Minutes later Exmouth went offside on their own ten metre line and Maddick kicked the ball to the Exmouth 22. From the lineout Brixham won a scrum and when the ball got to Jake Lawrence the Brixham 10 shook off some half hearted tackles to score wide of the posts. Maddick missed the conversion but after ten minutes the visitors were eight points ahead. Exmouth tried without success to get into the Brixham half but a series of knock ons or poor options passed the initiative to the visitors.
Brixham should have scored another try at the end of the quarter put a poor pass left an overlap with the line at their mercy. Almost inevitably Exmouth went offside moments later on their own 22 and Phil Maddick made it 11pts-nil. When Exmouth knocked on when the restart kick was returned there was a sense of foreboding followed by despair when immediately after the scrum Exmouth went offside again and Maddick slotted over penalty number three to take the score to 14pts-nil. On the half hour some light began to show when Mark Wathes took the ball at pace following a ruck and the Cockles skipper scored an unconverted try. With forty minutes normal play gone, the despair returned when the influential captain was shown the yellow card and he spent the remaining five minutes of injury time and the start of the second half in the sin bin.
Exmouth started the second half positively and to signal Wathes’ return the Cockles were awarded a penalty when Brixham went offside at a maul. Jon Boltrukiewicz kicked the three points and at 14pts-8 Exmouth had made a good start to the half. With this success the Cockles became more adventurous and they started to play the game in the visitors half. The next Exmouth score started with Exmouth winning a Brixham lineout followed by a drive forward by Mark Wathes. A break and reverse pass by Jon Boltrukiewicz allowed Jack Downie to carry to the Brixham 22. A knock on gave Brixham a scrum on their own 10 metre line but when a maul developed James Finnegan came away with the ball and his pass to Dale Sleeman gave the centre the space he needed to scamper over for a try. The conversion kick went astray but with Exmouth now within a point of Brixham the contest was really on.
With fifteen minutes of normal time remaining Brixham were penalised handling in the scrum and Exmouth should have taken the lead but the kick went astray. This lifted the Brixham spirits and they started to win ball and play in the Exmouth half something they hadn’t been allowed to do since half time and Matt Hopper and Gary Hooper made some good carries to get the Cockles out of trouble. The game was building to a climax and with five minutes of normal play remaining Richard Cadywould came on to replace Jon Boltrukiewicz. Exmouth got back on the attack and with two minutes of injury time played they won a penalty 35 metres out. Pressure kicks do not come any more intense than this but Cadywould coolly slotted the ball over for Exmouth to take the lead. Another agonising seven minutes of injury time was played, Brixham tried to get into the Exmouth half but the Cockles are learning how to close down the game and it was hooker Ed Baxter who hoofed the ball into touch knowing it would be the last act of the game.