Brixham stun Camborne with a devastating display

BRIXHAM sprung a shock on South West One leaders Camborne by beating them 35-33 in their own back yard, writes Conrad Sutcliffe.

The Cherry & Whites were unbeaten at home going into round ten, although you would not need a very long memory to recall what happened the last time the Fisherman paid them a visit.

Brixham did similar back in January when they went to Camborne and won 32-24. This time it was a lot closer as the Cherry & Whites kept chipping away what was a sizeable deficit during the second half.

The Fishermen were 20-5 up at one stage in the first half. By midway through the second they had opened-up a 35-19 lead.

Two tries, both converted, got Camborne back in the game and left Brixham to play possession rugby for the final four minutes to close out the win.

“It would have been great stuff to watch, but not if you were the coach,” said Adam Thomas, the Brixham coach.

“You look at some of the great results Camborne have had at home this season, such as sticking 70-odd points on Ivybridge, and go there expecting a tough game.

“You have to respect your opposition, but also back yourself to win which, in a division where everyone is capable of beating everyone else on their day, is the right thing to do.

“We had the wind and the slope in the first half and were able to get a decent lead.

“The half-time chat was about keeping the penalty count down and not allowing Camborne to kick into the corner and set up the driving maul from line-outs, which they are very good at.

“We did have a couple of chances in the second half that we did not take, and a couple of yellow cards that did not help us, but we held on at the end.

“Whether we would have held on for another five minutes I don’t know, but I like to think we would have.”

Steve Larkins the Camborne coach, said it was the game was probably won and lost in the first half, “We should have scored three more in the first half – and had a chance to win it at the end – but it was not to be,” said Larkins.

Matt Crosscombe, Connor Bedwell, Jason Capaldi and kicker Joel Ashworth were the Brixham try scorers.

Chew Valley defeated Launceston 40-9 to oust Camborne from top spot. A last-minute try from replacement Charlie Teague steered Ivybridge to an 18-13 win over Devonport Services.

James Clarke scored two tries for Exmouth in a 27-10 win over South West One strugglers Drybrook.

Skipper Dan Fogerty collected a try hat-trick for Okehampton, who lost 57-33 at Lydney.