Taunton Titans 53 – Devonport Services 17

Taunton Titans began their National League 2 West campaign under the lights at Summerfield Stadium, in front of a crowd of just six short of 1,100 spectators.

On a calm, warm evening, Taunton fielded a starting line-up that included seven players making their very first first-team appearances for the club. It was always going to take some time for the new-look side to settle and learn to play together, and the opening 20 minutes certainly demonstrated that.

Devonport Services dominated possession in the early stages and, within the first six minutes, Taunton had conceded four penalties. After eight minutes, Devonport knocked the ball on, resulting in the first scrum of the evening. The power exerted by the Taunton pack caused the Devonport scrum to crumble, giving Taunton some encouragement. However, from the resulting kick to touch and lineout, Taunton were out-jumped and the initiative quickly returned to Devonport.

With Devonport applying so much pressure, it seemed inevitable that Taunton would eventually succumb, but some excellent defence kept the visitors from scoring.

Then, on 20 minutes, Harrison Coonick looped around from his left-wing position into the centre to create an extra man. His pace took him through the middle from inside his own half, and he raced clear to score the opening try, which Tom Putt converted.

From the restart, Devonport conceded a scrum and, once again, they could not cope with the power of the Taunton forwards, collapsing under the pressure. Tom Putt opted to kick the resulting penalty, reducing the deficit to just four points.

However, from the restart, Taunton conceded another penalty — their eighth of the game so far. Devonport kicked to the corner, won the lineout and drove forward in a powerful maul, with prop James McFarlane eventually scoring the try. The conversion was missed, giving Devonport a 12–3 lead.

Taunton were now beginning to gain more possession and, on 33 minutes, scored their first try of the new campaign. Israel Akinrowa sliced through the Devonport defence to score, marking not only his first appearance for the club but also his first try. Tom Putt added the conversion and suddenly Taunton were just two points behind, with their confidence visibly growing.

With only three minutes of the first half remaining, Devonport conceded a penalty and Tom kicked to the corner. Taunton had lost four of their first five lineouts, and the mumbling amongst the spectators was soon quietened when Jan Davison, one of our Warriors stalwarts who had come on as a replacement second row, rose magnificently to win the lineout.

The resulting maul was driven towards the Devonport line, with hooker Gabriel Mead eventually crossing to score in his first game for the club. Tom Putt added the conversion, and Taunton went into half-time with a 17–12 lead.

Just three minutes into the second half, the magic of Tom Putt was on display again. He produced a perfectly weighted grubber kick through the Devonport defence, allowing Taunton left wing Freddie Elliott to race onto the ball and score. Tom duly converted.

Just four minutes later, Ben Parsons, the Taunton right wing, used a combination of power and pace to score Taunton’s fourth try and secure the bonus point. Tom narrowly missed the conversion, but Taunton now held a 12-point lead.

Taunton had settled considerably and were beginning to control large parts of the game. However, they did concede a rare penalty during this second-half period. Devonport kicked to touch, won the resulting lineout and again formed a driving maul. Their second row, Rickard, emerged from the maul to score the try. The conversion was missed, but Devonport were back within two scores.

Just two minutes later, Devonport conceded another penalty and Tom Putt opted to kick at goal. The successful kick extended Taunton's lead to 15 points and put them three scores clear.

Taunton then went through a number of good phases, and on 66 minutes Matt Whitlock joined the line from fullback and raced through to score another try. Tom converted, and the atmosphere amongst the spectators seemed to relax as Taunton took firm control of the match.

Taunton then made three changes, bringing on Will Holmes at scrum-half, reintroducing Albert Fordham, who had been replaced after just five minutes following a knock and had now recovered, and bringing on Henry Batty.

Fordham demonstrated just how good he is in the lineout during the final 15 minutes, but it was Will Holmes who really stole the show.

Picking up from the base of a scrum just inside the Devonport half, Holmes accelerated through the gap with electrifying pace, sidestepped the next line of defence and raced away to score an outstanding individual try. Tom Putt converted.

Holmes was again involved in Taunton's final try of the game. Freddie Elliott raced down his wing but, with the Devonport defence crowding him towards the touchline, he produced a deft kick through. Holmes completely outpaced the defence to secure the ball before handing on to Henry Batty, who crossed to score. Tom Putt added the conversion to complete the scoring.

There were many unsung heroes in this game. While the focus will inevitably be on those who score the points, a great deal of credit must go to the players who created the opportunities for them to do so.

The front five were outstanding in the tight play, while the energy and work rate of Ewan Guy at the back of the scrum were immense. Having two electrifying scrum-halves in Scott and Will can only be good for the club, while Tom Putt's maturity, ability to read the game and confidence in varying the way he played was particularly impressive.

The centres were firm and solid, and their defence repeatedly stopped Devonport in their tracks, preventing many promising opportunities. Just as importantly, their distribution of the ball created the space that allowed our two explosive wings to attack.

With every game, we see Matt Whitlock developing and maturing, not only in his attacking ability but also in the solidity of his defence.

This was a really good performance from Taunton, and a thoroughly enjoyable way to begin the new campaign. Thank you to every player who contributed, and none more so than our new boys, whom we warmly welcome and hope to see much more of as the season progresses.

Mike Amos

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