Newly promoted Sidmouth RFC fell to Exmouth Rugby 1st team 19-30 on the opening day of the Regional 1 South West league season.

Both teams, who used to regularly face each other at a senior level some 40 years ago, had to overcome the unexpected rain which made conditions slippery.

Within nine minutes of the game, which took place on September 7, Exmouth took the lead courtesy of Oli Cave who scored a try with Lewis Tose, making his debut, converting.

The score was 7-0 in Exmouth's favour.

Five minutes later, Tom Hodge scored for Sidmouth closing the gap to 5-7.

By the end of the first half, Sidmouth came out on top with Shaun Malton going over and Phil Dollman converting, leading 12-7.

Sidmouth ScorersSidmouth Scorers

Exmouth's performance improved in the second half.

Tose added a penalty and Cave scored his second try, nudging ahead 12-15.

Following a great performance from their forward pack, Will Ridout broke free and Tose converted to stretch their lead to 12-25.

Lewis Geran and Malton added another set of scores moving the final score to 19-30, a victory for Exmouth.

The win delighted the Exmouth coaching team and the numerous travelling supporters.

Despite a bit of a slow start in the first half, the team eased into the game, giving them plenty to build on during training in the coming weeks.

Next, on September 14, Exmouth will host Royal Wootton Bassett at home with kick-off at 2.30pm.

In comparison, the COCKLES QUINS were defeated 7-43 by a strong Torquay Athletic 1st Team.

Despite a positive start, they could not withstand the pressure, particularly after being reduced to 14 men which allowed their rivals to score a couple of late tries.

On the same day, COCKLES NOMADS met a similar fate, losing to Bideford RFC 2nd Team 67-7 on the road.

In contrast, the COCKLES COLTS pulled off a strong 21-5 win on the road against the Cullompton Colts.

Looking forward, on September 14, the QUINS are geared to travel to Exeter Saracens 1st team while the NOMADS & COLTS are scheduled to host Exeter Saracens 2nd team and Bideford Colts respectively.