Exmouth Rugby Club lost out to the better team on the day, going down 3-19 at St Austell.

A single penalty from George Meadows was all the travelling Cockles had to show for their toils. That said, the scoring opportunities came and went without troubling the hosts try line.

An afternoon of questionable decision making, handling errors and missed opportunities, especially in the lineout, did not help the cause. St Austell took their chances from missed tackles and a couple of catch and drive lineouts and the large travelling support was left disappointed, along with players and coaches.

At 3-12 down at half time, the Cockles could have been closer but for missed penalties. On the restart, the mood was confident, and several breaks could have changed the direction of the game as Exmouth came so close.

 The team continued to find that gap and create chances. The scrum was solid and provided a platform to attack, just not in the right position of the field. A definite high point was the return of former skipper Jack Fahy who entered the fray off the bench after 18 months out through injury.

The score did not move until the clock was in the red when St Austell bundled over their final score, much to the delight of the home crowd at a ground Exmouth have not visited for some 20 years.

Team. Jack Madge, Charlie Gibbings, Tommy Andrews, Lee Loveridge, Liam Bayley, Tom Mustoe, Olly Willis, Will Ridout, Matt Ryan, George Meadows, Jake Inglis, Robbie Weeks, Nick Headley, Lewis Geran, Gareth Roebuck. Jack Fahy, Oli Cave, James Clarke.

Next is a stiff challenge at home on Saturday. The visitors are Barnstaple RFC with kick off at 2.30 pm. This will be a cracker against a long-term foe, who have re-entered Regional One South West League, after a few seasons in the league above.

Exmouth Quins stole a bonus point after going down 20-30 to Old Plymothian & Mannameadian ERFC 1st Team, 20-30. Tries from Charlie Parr, Matt Seager, Rich Beharrell and Joe Harris ensured the team took something from OPM, especially as the home side was made up mainly of forwards.

On Saturday, the Quins, Nomads and Colts are all away to Plymouth Argaum, Tiverton and Plymstock Albion Oaks, respectively.