Launceston 42 - Taunton 15 (Match Report)

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After the improvements of recent weeks it was back to earth with a bump as Taunton suffered a disappointing 42-15 defeat in tricky conditions at Launceston on Saturday.

Taunton travelled to the Dutchy for the second time this season with high hopes of a victory in order to cement their place at the higher end of mid table, despite a number of enforced changes. However Launceston played to the conditions more effectively to take maximum spoils, whilst Taunton returned home empty handed.

The opening quarter was an evenly matched affair, with little between the two sides, although it was Launceston who opened the scoring through a well worked try from Ryan Westren. On loan from the Cornish Pirates, the outside centre used his experience to skirt around the defence and slide over on the right. Launceston’s top points scorer Kieron Lewitt converted giving the hosts a 7-0 lead.

Despite taking the lead, Launceston conceded a number of early penalties and, when Taunton made their first foray into the red zone, another infringement left the referee little option. A yellow card was issued to hooker James Salter giving Taunton a man advantage for ten minutes. They capitalised on this with a try for the hard working Dean Taylor-Menzies, who barged his way over before Tony Yapp added the conversion to level the scores at 7-7.

At this stage the action was was end to end, with nothing to separate the two sides in battle. An offside gifted the home side a penalty attempt, which Lewitt slotted before Yapp, one of three former Launceston players in the Taunton side, responded with one of his own. The scores were level at 10-10 after twenty minutes of play.

The remainder of the 1st half belonged to Launceston, and they wrapped the bonus point up before the period was out when they added three tries. The first came when home prop Tom Hurdwell was driven over the line on the left following a rolling maul from a successful line out take. Lewitt was successful with the trickiest kick he would have all afternoon. 17-7.

The next two tries were conceded with relative ease, and would ultimately leave Taunton too far in arrears. The first saw promising young Launceston wing Aaron Struminski dance his way through some weak tackling from forty metres out to cross on the left for an unconverted try. Westren then got his second of the afternoon in similar fashion on the right hand side. This time Lewitt added the conversion and Launceston had a deserved 29-10 lead.

The final play of the half saw Taunton threaten again only for the move to once more be illegally killed at the breakdown. With only time for a penalty kick remaining, Yapp stepped up for an attempt at the posts. But with the ground slippery under foot he did not connect cleanly, and instead hooked his kick wide on the stroke of half time, the score 29-10.

Taunton knew they had much work to do and responded soon after the break. The forwards battled hard to create a number of chances to breach the Launceston line. Sonny Haines and Dave Bufton in particular both went close. They got their reward when Jon Gatford and Taylor-Menzies latched on to each other during a catch and drive, the latter being credited with the touchdown, his second of the afternoon. Yapp though, saw his conversion drift wide. 29-15.

Liam Wilkinson and Oli Marriott once again demonstrated their abilities, with another good showing and hard work, whilst Joe Bartlett continues to impress with his increasing experience and first class service. Gary Kingdom, another former Launceston player, was secure at the back and together with Tom Popham snuffed out a number of potential scoring opportunities as the home side adapted to the worsening conditions. As the pitch surface deteriorated in the rain, any hopes of fast-flowing Corinthian rugby for the local crowd slowly sank deeper into the developing quagmire.

A yellow card for England Counties second row Ben Hilton was not enough to throw Taunton a much-needed lifeline and his ten-minute absence saw no addition to the scoreboard. When back to full complement Lewitt had two chances to add another three points for the home side following infringements at the breakdown. He failed with his first effort but made no mistake with his second. 32-15.

Launceston then made sure that it was game over when Hilton turned from villain to hero, gathering a neatly chipped ball from the boot of scrum half Lewis Webb. Hilton timed his run to perfection to catch the Taunton defence napping and go in under the posts for a well-worked try. The conversion in front of the posts was a mere formality for Lewitt. 39-15.

The closing stages saw hard running centre Christian Gervais hit the deck in a tackle and remain down for a prolonged period. The medical staff gave him immediate attention and it was a relief to see him helped back to his feet to a warm applause from the large crowd. They afforded a bigger cheer when Lewitt added another penalty with the final addition to the scoreboard for the afternoon. 42-15.

The final five minutes belonged to Taunton, although it was too little too late with victory already secure for the Cornish men. Time after time opportunities for Taunton went begging, with the ball being lost via unforced errors being a reflection of the scrappy nature of the entire second half. As the rain poured it was a relief when the final whistle drew the game to a close. On the day a deserved victory going to the hosts with the full time score 42-15.

It was a disappointing day at the office for Taunton following the improvements made over the last five weeks, and a bitter pill to swallow having gone into the match with expectations high. The conditions were a contributing factor, but failure to adapt to them or to capitalise on a high opposition penalty count means there will be plenty to work on and put right this week in training.

As a result, Taunton now slip two places in the table before welcoming third place Henley Hawks to Hyde Park on Saturday 10th December.