Withies Undone by OPM

A testing game ends in defeat at Raleigh Park

A testing game ends in defeat at Raleigh Park

Withy stumbled to their second defeat in three games on Saturday against OPMs at a muddy Raleigh Park. A shaky start from the side saw them needing to deploy some effective defending deep inside the 22’ after just 5min, but with the lineout stolen, Withy could breathe a sigh of relief and clear back towards the middle of the pitch. 

A period of sustained pressure from Withycombe towards the end of the opening quarter of the game was extinguished after OPM stole a 5m lineout of their own and had left the hosts with nothing to show for their efforts.

Withies would eventually build further, showing some dominant strength in the catch-and-drive five minutes later to come away with the score with Jack Sharland touching down across the whitewash. Finlay Lockhart’s conversion gave Withy a 7-0 lead after 25 minutes. 

The visitors were immediately back in attack and thought they’d closed the gap when a break down the wing saw the player lose the ball whilst attempting to dive over the line. Withy had escaped this time, but the clearing dropout kick went awry, and they found themselves defending a scrum 5m out. With the scrum ball finding the same winger once again in space, he dotted down – a little more carefully this time – to close the gap and bring the half time score to 7-5.

The second half saw Withy struggle to leave their own half for a large passage of time and, although they were weathering the storm well, they were doing it with a high penalty count. With multiple opportunities to gain ground, OPM were gaining in confidence; another knocked-on ball before grounding saved Withy again, but in similar fashion to the first half, had only prevented the inevitable as the boys in purple snatched their second try in the far corner. 

Now behind in the game for the first time, Withy fought their way back in the final twenty minutes of the match but were unable to convert any real chances. An opportunity to snatch a late winner was denied five minutes from time as the try was chalked off for a mis-timed tackle from the aerial kick moments before. 

The final score: Withycombe 7, OPM 10.

A disappointing result at home, but the boys still pick up the losing bonus point. They now have the opportunity to brush themselves off; study what went right and wrong and put these learning points into fruition next weekend when they travel up the A376 to play Exeter Saracens at Exhibition Fields. Kick off next Saturday is at the earlier-than-usual time of 2pm.