Exmouth finally put a long run of defeats behind them with a spirited and workmanlike performance against a Henley outfit who have recently come into form.

In a game billed as a 'must win' by the local media, the Cockles showed a desire and a willingness to put their bodies on the line for long periods that has been lacking in recent weeks, and played solidly for the full 80 minutes.

Henley were always in the lead until the final ten minutes when an opportunist try was created by and converted by replacement Richard Cadywould , who a few minutes later, kicked a penalty to put a bit of breathing space between the two teams.

Henley started the game brightly and scored after just nine minutes with a George Jackson try. Jackson later added a penalty on the stroke of half time to leave the scoreline 8-0 in Henley's favour. The first half was mainly all about Henley's attack, as Exmouth struggled to exit from their defensive third.

A Dave Bargent try got the Cockles right back in it at the start of the second half , and a conversion by fly half George Meadows made it a one point ball game.

Henley Centre Dave Hankinson scored soon after following some sloppy play from Exmouth, and George Jackson added a conversion and a penalty to make it 16-7 in the visitors favour.

George Meadows slotted a penalty from under the posts to set up a grand stand finish and Exmouth could sniff an upset.

A controversial try from man of the match Mark Wathes following some enterprising vision from Cadywould, who added a touch line conversion from the touch line was enough to put the Cockles in the lead. Henley's officials were angry that the try stood, following consultation with the touch judge.

The Cockles can now build on a superb home victory, and can take great heart from a solid defensive display.

Man of the Match Mark Wathes
Half time score 0-8
Full time score 20-16

Head Coach Jon Hill comments:

"We are all absolutely delighted with both the effort and the result and can really try and build on a solid defensive performance.

"We demonstrated a work ethic and a desire to defend that has been lacking in recent weeks, and the message to the players is now very much about backing this up in the coming weeks.

"We have some tough challenges ahead, and we must approach these with confidence and also no fear, whilst attempting to get better at the same time. The reality is that we were very poor in our exits today and put ourselves under huge amounts of needless pressure. We will have to be a lot better in this area of our game moving forward.

"However, today's (Saturday's) game was all about getting a result, and we did just that. It was massively important that we took something from both of our post Christmas games and a return of five points is decent, and gives us something to build on.

"The whole team really demonstrated big character today and I am delighted for them all and applaud their mentality today and this week in training."

Regards

Jon
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