Devon Cup

Totnes 15,

Ivybridge 7

The home side prevailed in a tight match that could have gone either way on a heavy pitch in Totnes.

Ivybridge battled hard throughout and were undone by two counter-attacks following turnover while in possession.

A re-arranged backline for Ivybridge, with two influential players missing through injury, coped with Totnes’s attacks for a majority of the game but struggled to deal with the line speed of their opposition at times.

The forward battle was physical and a couple of the Ivybridge boys played on despite heavy knocks.

Totnes opened the scoring with a penalty midway through the first half and following on from this Ivybridge had to defend some concerted Totnes pressure.

At the end of the first half Ivybridge were in the ascendancy and a well-worked rolling maul finished by George Barnes and converted by Ed Epps was too much for Totnes to cope with.

In difficult conditions with lots of stoppages Ivybridge never really clicked into gear. The Totnes tries came late, partially as a result of failing to clear lines, and there was no time to respond.

As a team the Ivybridge boys have coped well with injuries and departures of certain players in the last 12 months. They’ll be looking to bounce back with a strong finish to the season.