South West 1 West

Cullompton 13, North Petherton 25

NORTH Petherton scored four tries on their way to an important bonus-point win at struggling Cullompton on Saturday, writes Simon Freeman.

Miles McNeillie, Sam Williams, Harry Auten and Damian Griffin all crossed for Pethy, while Harry Roberts kicked five points – and captain Griffin was satisfied with his troops.

He said: “We had a job to do and we were looking for a strong performance to get a bonus point win.

“We knew it was going to be tough as Cully are strong at home – we knew we would have to play for the whole 80 minutes and we managed to keep composed throughout to get the five points – and for the forwards and backs to link up which makes it much more enjoyable.

“Pethy made a dream start and applied pressure immediately, strong breaks from the forwards laid a platform for the backs to exploit any gaps and finally Miles McNeillie to score.

“Cully responded positively and tested the Pethy defence and shifted the plays swiftly but the visitors just held the edge at the early exchanges.

Pethy played their way out of defence to work their way up field and stretch the home defence until the official awarded Pethy a penalty, Harry Roberts extended the lead.

Cullompton hit back with a well-worked try, before adding a second shortly after to take the lead.

The visitors bounced back at a quicker tempo and moved the ball sharply around the field. Pethy hit the gaps and made good field positions and when Sam Williams picked up he still had numerous defenders in front of him – but, with a couple of steps and a powerful leg drive, he bounced them off to score and retake the lead. Roberts converted.

Typically, Cully came back strongly and forced Pethy on the back foot to concede a penalty to close the gap to 13-15.

With the game in the balance, the breakdown became even more physical and important to the outcome.

Both teams continued to move the ball when possible but it was the visitors who gave themselves some breathing space after both the forwards and backs combined to give Harry Auten some space, which he utilised to score the third try (13-20).

As the game entered the last few moments, the home team threw all they had to level the scores but Pethy continued to hold firm until Damian Griffin anticipated an interception in his own half to sprint over and beat the covering defenders, to close the game down and secure the bonus point.