Withies Hold Out for the Win

They survive a late surge of attack for victory on the road

The old adage of a ‘a game of two halves’ is often used, but it was certainly the case at Unicorn Park this weekend for the Withies. 

The side got off to a sluggish start, allowing for the hosts to enjoy the lion’s share of the early possession. With the first meaningful period of attack going to South Molton, Withy worked hard in defence and in stealing a South Molton lineout 5m out, the boys in green and black started to spring into action. 

With the ball now inside the home side’s 22’, Withy had an opportunity to put their attack game into place and after a decent amount of work inside the red zone, and a couple of penalties later, Joe Graham took hold of the ball and sidestepped the defence to score. With teenage debutant Finlay Lockhart’s conversion sailing through the posts, Withy were seven points up.

With the first try on the board, Withies continued to play well, showing some real intent with each of their attacking phases and defending well when the need arose. 

South Molton’s defence was beginning to rock and when the decision was to take a ball into touch 7m out rather than clear it handed Withy a perfectly placed lineout, the catch-and-drive was set up and before long, Liam Cullen had crashed over the line. The score 0-12 at the half-hour mark.

The first half dominance was showing, and Withycombe controlled the majority of the action. Some strong carries and effective tackling meant that Withy took their 0-12 lead into the half time break.

The second half saw a complete shift in momentum with South Molton using home advantage and the hill to their benefit. After just three minutes, they were over the try line – but in an attempt to maximise the effect for their fans, the ball was dropped going over the line. 

Withy were safe and could clear from the scrum, but then followed a lengthy period of South Molton attack. It took over fifteen minutes of attack before the Withycombe defensive wall was finally breached as a well-placed chip kick set up a footrace, which was won by the hosts to score in the corner to bring the score to 5-12. 

Conceding the try sparked a little more light back into Withy and they manage to level out the play once again. Whether it was the slope, the fatigue from the lengthy defence or the fast-fading light but luck was not on the side of the visitors. Whatever Withy tried, just wasn’t coming off and they were unable to convert pressure into points. 

The final ten minutes belonged to South Molton who were back inside the Withycombe half. The strong defence from Withycombe held out, and although losing George Doughty to the sin bin following a high tackle on a dipping player, they managed to keep the hosts away from the try line and with a pass going into touch, the final whistle blew, and Withy had made it five wins on the bounce. 

The full time score: South Molton 5, Withycombe 12. 

Next week, we return to Raleigh Park to host OPMs. Kick off will be at 2:30pm.