Withycombe RFC went into the final game of the year needing to prove some points following two disappointing defeats in a row, writes Adam Curtis.

The boys got off to a strong start, keeping Plymouth Argaum inside their own half and controlling the opening phases of play. As play progressed, the visitors found their feet a little and began to match Withy for skill but were still unable to make any real measurable gains in territory.

The status quo remained for almost 20 minutes before Withies regained the upper hand and started to work the ball through the hands and up into the Argaum 22’. With a penalty being awarded 10/15m out, the ball was played quickly and passed to Luke Pattison who crashed over the line for the opening score of the game.

The kicking duties of the day to Matt Edworthy who, on his first senior match for the club stepped up to the mark and bisected the posts beautifully.

Remaining largely inside the visiting half, Withy continued to apply pressure on their counterparts, forcing the errors and big tackles. From another penalty in a dangerous position, the ball was again taken quickly, this time finding Liam Daniels on the left wing who dotted down in Clubhouse Corner.

The match evened out once again, with the play extending further afield, meaning that Withy would need to put their defence to the test. They stood strong and were awarded with a third try on the stroke of half time after a Luke Pattison break was shipped out to Morgan West to carry the ball even further towards the line.

With the defence building, a perfectly timed pass out to the awaiting George Doughty was enough to beat the defenders and a second try in Clubhouse Corner. Edworthy’s pinpoint-accurate conversion brought an end to the first half, the Withies taking a 19-0 lead into the break.

The second half got underway with a bang as, with little more than a minute on the clock, some great teamwork was finished off by Max Rickards who found a small gap in the defence to run in and score next to the posts for another seven-point score.

With the slope now in their favour, Withy were able to up the pace of play and really build pressure on Argaum. George Doughty was able to power across the line twice in just four minutes to complete his hat-trick on 55 minutes.

Strength upfront was matched with pace through the halfbacks and backs with the players joining well to maintain the tempo and tire out the visitors, keeping them pinned inside their own half – defending this pace uphill would never be easy and before long the scoring resumed when Max Rickards made good use of space down the right-hand wing to sprint and score his second try.

Soon after, Max’s hat-trick was complete when a perfect dummy from the back of a ruck foxed the defenders, leaving the Withy Scrum Half plenty of free space ahead of him.

The final say of the game went Withies’ way though as another dummy pass, this one from Joe Blyth was enough to create the necessary space to allow Withy across the line for their ninth (and final) score of the game.

After an exhilarating 80 minutes of rugby, the final score stood at Withycombe 55, Plymouth Argaum 0.

Withycombe will need to back this up with another top performance when they return from their break as they head up to North Devon to take on Barnstaple Athletic in a tough post-Christmas challenge on January 6.

Until then, it’s time to take a well-deserved break! On behalf of us all at the Club, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy new year and we thank you for your support throughout 2023!