Tribute Devon two
Dartmouth RFC 9,
In a hard-fought match that was the final Tribute Devon League Two game for both sides, the Riversiders came out on top thanks to the boot of veteran centre Matt Putt.
Dartmouth had the distinct territorial advantage throughout the game but poor finishing by them resulted in a tryless match – something of a rarity these days.
On a sunny but cold spring afternoon, a good-sized crowd saw the Riversiders' forwards soon impose their superiority on the Ramblers, ending in a string of penalties against the visitors.
After an early missed kick by Aaron Hunt, the services of Matt Putt were called upon – not surprisingly as he had won the previous league game against Torrington last week with the final kick of the match. Sure enough, he slotted his first attempt after five minutes.
So encouraged was he by this that he then attempted another penalty from near the half-way line which dropped just short of the bar. This rattled the visitors, but not enough to prevent them conceding two more kickable penalties before half-time that Matt put over with style.
Buckfastleigh rarely got out of their half and were finding the front-row of Tenreiro, Shillabeer and Varney a bit of a handful in tight and open play.
All three carried the ball well and made several inroads into their opponents' territory.
Another veteran, Dave Bradley, and his half-aged partner in the second row, Adam Sharam, were both having stormers, securing good line-out ball and plenty of drive in the rucks and mauls.
The back-row of Caunter, Kearney and Dingle feasted on the amount of ball provided by their engine-room colleagues and only a good, solid defence and fearsome tackling by Ramblers prevented a rout.
However, the Dartmouth backs could not find a way through this defence, try as they would.
Rory Shillabeer gave his outsides plenty of chances to break Ramblers' defence but often a simple handling error let them down.
Richard Lobb tried hard to get through and both wings, Xavier Picot and Dan Jones chased well along with Scott Silsbury, the full-back, but it was not Dartmouth's day for scoring tries and it was difficult to judge who was most frustrated – the team or the spectators.
When Dingle was yellow-carded just before half-time it scarcely made any difference and attack after attack broke down. It was a mystery that Dartmouth did not score several tries and at the end the score remained 9-0.
So that is the end of Dartmouth's season and they have finish fourth in the table, a creditable performance.
Many younger players have been blooded and that is a most encouraging sign. The coaches, Chris Chater and Lee Chase, have worked hard and seen some significant improvement in the team's play.
It was good to see former chairman and coach, Steve Atkins, on the touch-line after his serious work-accident. The club wishes Steve and Penny all good luck for a speedy return to full recovery.
There remains the Final of the Devon Plate to be played next week at Tamar Saracens' ground for which the club is hoping good support.
The spectators play an important part of our rugby and their constant support is much appreciated.
Also, an end-of-season black tie ball is to be held in a marquee on Coronation Park on Friday, April 11, when guests will enjoy dinner and dancing by the Dart and an auction of some very exclusive donations will be held.
Tickets for this event which is almost sold out may be obtained from Les Jefferies on 0795 6410724.