Events/News

Salcombe RFC Vs Kingsbridge RFC

12 – 10

For the first time in a generation Salcombe came out victorious in a hard fought and tense match in front of nearly 1000 people all desperate to see the energy and passion that the traditional Boxing Day fixture has become synonymous with.
 
The opening exchanges were fairly even, however it didn’t take the visiting Kingsbridge side too long to begin to make in roads into Salcombe territory and to edge possession. An early injury for Salcombe centre meant an unforeseen reshuffle of the Crab backline and the introduction of Sam Thomas on the wing – Thomas having previously been promised only a 20 minute run out after just returning from injury.

Kingsbridge then began turning the screw and camped themselves on the Salcombe line however some full blooded defending and a brilliant turnover on their own line saw the Crabs being given the opportunity to clear their lines and find a little breathing space. This seemed to spur on the home team and so began a period of play that saw Salcombe take the lead thanks to a penalty kick from Scrum Half Lee Clarke. They were unlucky not to extend this lead when flanker Jay Hannaford looked to all the world to have bundled over from close range. Unfortunately this was missed by the referee but was mitigated somewhat by a further penalty kick from Clarke to put the underdogs 6 nil up. Kingsbridge bit back hard and narrowed the arrears with a close range try and a missed conversion to bring up a half time score of 6 – 5.

Salcombe now knowing what they had to do for another 40 minutes, began to believe that an upset might possibly be in the air. These hopes were dented somewhat when Kingsbridge began to roll out their vast array of substitutes all with fresh legs and scores to settle. Salcombe’s own bench was no less talented just smaller in number, in fact a late addition to the match day squad occurred at half time with prop Jon Hawtin being coaxed out of retirement there and then – what was promised we will never know – perhaps a chance at making a little bit of hometown history.
 
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first. Clarke hit another 3 points for Salcombe only for the visitors 7 minutes later to take the lead for the first time in the match with a well taken try at close range once the Salcombe defenders finally ran out (conversion unsuccessful). The Crabs did their best to put this out of their minds and concentrate on what had served them well until this point. A couple of long clearances and excellent ball retention put the Crabs into the visitors’ 22. From this point time seemed to move in slow motion, Clarke shaped to spread the ball to the patient backline but instead passed directly behind himself almost telepathically to the waiting Jon Squire who lined up the posts from 40 yards out to hit the first and probably last drop goal of his career to the sound of a huge cheer from the jubilant and well lubricated club house end. For those wearing a red shirt on the pitch and their supporters the next 12 minutes seemed to take an eternity, broken bodies were running on less than fumes and the onslaught of attack in increasingly desperate blue waves seemed to be unrelenting. The feeling of belief by this point however was infectious and Salcombe played out the final minutes with a calmness totally conflicting the internal chaos that each player was feeling. A turnover led to a penalty and the ball going deeper into the Kingsbridge half, at which the belief was at fever pitch. A further penalty conceded by the visitors and the ball going dead with no time to play brought about scenes that few thought would ever happen again.

 
Notable performances were too many to mention, each of the squad played their part in an accomplishment built on not giving an inch whether with or without the ball. That said some players led by example until they nigh on ran themselves into the ground. Captain James Lake ever the willing runner had more carries in one game than the previous 10 matches, Flanker Hannaford ended with tackle figures well into double figures, Centre Liam Wills was the defensive lynchpin of the backline giving little change out of any Kingsbridge runners. Wing Thomas offered a level of abrasiveness that the visitors often found hard to deal with both in the carry and tackle. Off the field, the match day management team of Tom and Toby Woods did everything they could to flick the belief switch for those on the pitch and build confidence in the face of some overwhelming odds to build to a tumultuous win for the first time on Boxing Day in 21 years that few would have even considered a possibility until moments before the final whistle.
 

Salcombe RFC would like to thank all players, supporters and the management team of Kingsbridge RFC, and look forward to the return fixture in 12 months’ time. Thank you to the referee who had travelled a long way to ensure the match was able to go ahead. The playing squad would like to thank all of the volunteers that helped the day run smoothly, to Emma Woods and her team of Bar Staff who ensured that fans from both teams had their hydration needs met and to the vocal home support who got behind the Crabs and made sure that no heads dropped even when bodies began to break.

Boxing Day 2023 Playing Squad – D. Sinnott, M. Harvey, P.Lloyd, D. Hepburn, B. Goodman, S. Harding-Hodder, J. Lake (c), J. Hannaford, L. Clarke, J. Squire, S. Wilkins, L. Wills, R. Davis, O. Masters, G. Willmott, S. Thomas, M. Lidstone, J. Hawtin, F. Willmott.