Honiton 7 - 54 Exmouth

After the weather caused an unscheduled break last week it was great to see two sides meet up in a friendly to brush off the cobwebs.

Despite the scoreline for much of the game this was an evenly balance match with an incredible tackling display by this developing Honiton side.

Exmouth always had control of the game and played for each other - and perhaps this was the difference between the sides. Honiton had very strong runners in the back line but became isolated and their play broke-down and turned over.

The Exmouth side were always looking to offload in the tackle and with some direct running always gained ground.

With the propect of a place against the Chiefs - next week - you could see that many players were giving that bit extra to get on the team-sheet. It was difficult to single out any start performer with so many phases showing much improvement.

A recurring injury saw John Parkin leave the field and the enforced reshuffle - with Shaun Fayter stepping in at scrum-half - didn't upset the balance of the side. It is great to know there is strength in depth to cover such key positions.

The last time these sides met the second half belonged to Honiton and kept Exmouth to just one try. On this occasion Exmouth kept the pressure on throughout and Adam Morris only missed one of 8 conversions - a pretty good average.

The game was won in the forwards and centred around strong running around the fringes before releasing the back-line. Grant Vaughan-Atkins broke and sold an entertaining dummy - not bad for a prop-forward - and was only topped when Tom (Bear) Roberts made a break with grim determination on his face. The back-row had another fine performance from Harry Cozens.

At half-time there were a number of changes to the Exmouth side and the momentum continued with Kev Rodwell breaking with a goose step to set up the ball for a try and James (Jaffa) Bartholemhew popping up everywhere in the back line before a stint at openside.

Propably the most entertaining apspect of the match came after the referee awarded a try and both James (Hightower) Tapp and Bear came up fighting over the ball- and who had scored. We are still none the wiser and each now have the dubious honour of having scored half a try - so far this season.

The other try scoreres were Shaun Fayter (2), Adam Morris (2), Beau Kimble (2) and Sam Bull. In all cases these trys were the finishing touch to a great team effort and could have been scored by several players running in support.

It was great to see Sam Reed back after a serious injury and he showed his class with a few breaks - dancing through the opposition.

This was a solid result and we are greatful to Honiton for agreeing to host us and provide such a test. They are developing fast and have some really strong players on which to build a formidable outfit. Exmouth deserved the victory but this was a great accolade for Colts rugby with Honiton standing out with the high number of tackles made which surprised the Exmouth outfit. Honiton held their own in both the scrums and the line-out.

This was a very sporting tie with both teams giving 100% and with the sensible refereeing meant an opening game was enjoyed by spectators from both sides.