South West One West

Wadebridge 19 North Petherton 27

NORTH Petherton produced a spirited defensive display as they beat Wadebridge 27-19 away on Saturday.

Pethy got off to a dream start as within a minute of the whistle left winger Gavin Hancock produced a moment of quality to touch down for the visitors. Harry Roberts converted.

The home side responded determinedly with strong runs, hitting the breakdowns hard and showing plenty of enterprise, and in the fifth minute they moved the visitors around until they found a gap for a good team try.

In the 27th minute Wadebridge deservedly took the lead after concerted pressure forced Pethy to lose focus.

The kick-off resulted in an increase in tempo from the visitors with strong breaks by the front five and sniping runs from the backs.

In the 32nd minute James Carter levelled the scores with Roberts adding the extras for Pethy to retake the lead.

The early part of the second half remained a tough midfield battle with both teams showing excellent commitment.

Pethy were first to score through a well-struck Roberts penalty in the 45th minute to take a 17-12 lead.

The next 20 minutes were tense as both teams created opportunities only for some superb defensive tackles to nullify the plays.

Both teams began to make changes, and with the game still in the balance Wadebridge demonstrated another well worked converted try to retake the lead.

As the game entered the last 15 minutes both teams knew the next score could be decisive.

Pethy, playing catch-up, moved the ball wider at the earliest opportunity, and within three minutes of the home side’s try they had retaken the lead with another cross-over from Gavin Hancock.

The last ten minutes were hard to watch with neither team deserving to lose, tackles becoming harder and the breakdown becoming more important.

Wadebridge, on a couple of occasions, were only yards from victory, but in the 79th minute Pethy breathed a huge sigh of relief as Roberts went over for the final score.