Withycombe put in a courageous performance before slipping to an unfortunate 23-17 defeat at Devonport Services 2nds.

The Withies built good early pressure and after a couple of scrum penalties in the bag, the position was set and it was time for the drive as Joe Blyth picked up from the back and dotted down over the line.

Withy’s try count was doubled just four minutes later when, after a well collected restart, the ball was sent back towards the host’s danger zone and then sent infield to George Doughty who broke free from the defence to score. Harry Symons’ conversion gave the Withies an early 0-12 lead.

Devonport picked up the pace after their sluggish start and got on the scoreboard with a penalty kick. The luck of the bounce was the secret to the next score in the game with the ball avoiding the hands of Sam Warren, instead finding the Devonport Winger to run in the corner.

A second try from the Plymouth side gave them the lead after 30 minutes but Withy struck back with Tom Cooke’s cross-field kick finding Ben West, who sped down the left wing to score and regain the lead, bringing an end to an energetic first half, 13-17 to Withy.

Withycombe had a good opportunity to extend their lead with a good period of pressure in the opposing 22’ but were just unable to cross the whitewash. A similar situation occurred at the other end of the field on the hour mark with the hosts piling on the pressure, eventually regaining the lead at 18-17.

Impact from the bench then made the difference, with the home side’s attack being bolstered by the addition of first-team players returning from injury.

Devonport extended their lead late in the game with a controversial score after a free ball behind the posts looked like it had been grounded by Withy, but with the home side then jumping on the ball, the referee awarded the try. Thankfully, the missed conversion attempt kept Withy in the game.

A final push deep inside the Devonport half looked promising, but unfortunately with the ball eventually going into touch, the game was brought to an end and Withy came away with just the losing bonus point for what was a much-improved performance.