Missing seven first team regulars , and affected by the fact that we had played no game for a number of weeks, our lack of game time and team unity showed against a side, buoyed on by their victory last week.

The reality is, with a number of key players missing, we were always going to be up against it. Having chose to play into the wind , a ten to fourteen point deficit at half time would have been manageable, such was the strength of the conditions. As it was, two sloppy tries to concede, and one opportunist try from the hosts off turnover ball proved too much to overcome in the second half comeback.

A poor set piece return in the second half proved costly , and fair play to Weston, they deserved their victory. They plugged territory well, kept the ball better than ourselves, and we made too many basic errors and showed poor discipline.

Missing the scrummaging nous of Tom Barnard, the line out skills of Ben Hawley and Sam Richardson, and the breakdown skills of James Harris , our pack competed admirably , but lacked a little detail. Our line out faulted in the second half, and meant that we ended up tapping penalties rather then relying on a drive maul game from line out that has served us well all season. Our backs, missing the leadership and direction of Tom Whelan and George Meadows, and the cutting edge of Richard Bright and Jack Downie offered flashes and a good counter attack game, but haven't played together before and it showed.

Harry Ottaway , a current Colt and Devon Under 18's player, had a good game at fly half, and will become a much better player for the experience. Max Keen and Pete Ingoldsby worked tirelessly in a rejigged back row following a first half injury to Davy McGregor, and formed an effective combination with stand in number 8 Dave Bargent, who gained the man of the match award. Matt Ryan moved to 9 in the last quarter, and a offered a big threat around the fringe.

With the gap in league points between fifth and twelfth closing all the time, it is important that we regroup , work hard, and focus on the next block of fixtures that can cement our position in this league for another year. This league is very tight this season, with standards improving all the time. Cleve away next weekend becomes a big challenge and one that we must be hugely motivated and focused on.

The Mighty Nomads kept up their promotion push from Devon Merit Table 2 with an impressive victory over Kingsbridge 2nd xv. The Colts also won, with an impressive 15-0 victory over Devon rivals Newton Abbot. Well done to Tinners, JJ and the boys.

Regards

Jon
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