Sports in Exmouth

In a game where points proved to be at a premium, today's match became all about the action in the middle third of the field.

The opening quarter saw both sides exchange possession as they got used to the gusty wind. With this wind blowing in favour of the Withies, the boot of fly half Tom Cooke would be a key ingredient in making ground past the solid home defence.

It proved to be a very difficult match for the Exeter Chiefs today (Saturday 23 October) against London Irish.

A rocky start

On Saturday 16th October, Exmouth Rowing Club hosted the penultimate regatta in the South West Coastal Rowing League's 2021 calendar. Men's, women's, Masters (50+) and mixed crews competed in quadruple, double and single sculls over a 4km or 8 km course, according to age-group.

The event drew over 100 competitors and their coxes, from Wales as well as from Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. Exmouth Rowing Club was proud to be represented, amongst others, by 3 finalists from the recent World Coastal Rowing Championships held at Oeiras in Portugal.

Today's away fixture against Wasps was a brutal battle for the Chiefs as they only just scraped a 27-23 victory.

The first half

Two quick-fire tries in the first half proved key to remain unbeaten at home

With last week's last-minute heartbreak down in Cornwall still fresh in the minds of the players, it was key that the same mistakes weren't to be made again. However, with a fresh new shirt and a host of players coming back into the team from injury, there was a great opportunity to get the season back on track as they welcomed Tavistock to Raleigh Park.

Yesterday's match versus Sale Sharks was an encouraging display after a slow start to the season for the Exeter Chiefs.

The Chiefs lost their first two matches against Leicester and Northampton, but bounced back with a 25-15 win against Sale.

In direct contrast to last weekend, a penalty in final play proves costly for the boys

With the forecast wind and rain coming through in waves at Memorial Park, today's game was always going to be tough for both sides.

A strong start to the league campaign isn't always measured in winning games – this is the case with Withy this year as the boys have so far done well to adjust to life in the higher league of Cornwall/Devon. The positive thoughts were flowing ahead of the predictably difficult match away in mid Devon.

With the early exchanges going Cullompton's way, the boys were taken aback by a strong start out of the blocks from the hosts as a second minute scrum saw the ball cleared to mid-pitch to allow Cully in under the posts.

This Saturday sees the third round of matches in the 2021/22 Tribute Cornwall/Devon league and the Withies are heading up to Mid Devon to play Cullompton.

With the first two matches ending in a narrow defeat to Bude and then last week's late equaliser at Raleigh Park against Plymstock Albion Oaks, the momentum in the team is beginning to grow; this coupled with the return of a couple players from injury this week, the boys will want to put in a confident performance against Cully.

A 75th minute score from Ben Bolwell ensured the points were shared at Raleigh Park.

Following last week's strong season opener against Bude, the youthful side went into this game with a level of confidence that they would be able to hold their own in the big matches. They also knew that a visit from Plymstock Albion Oaks would bring another tough game.