On a sticky pitch, the All Whites negotiated a tricky fixture against bottom side Clevedon, finishing up deserved winners despite, at one point, being down to 13 men.

It was all Clevedon for the first ten minutes and they scored early on – a well-worked move saw them pop over for a try in the corner for winger Harris, but the conversion failed.

The All Whites then put together slick handling moves, determined to try and move the ball about, and within 15 minutes they were level.

Quick ball from the base of an attacking ruck found its way out to Nick Holt, who slipped the ball out of the tackle to the supporting Jason Keenan, who threaded his way through two would-be tacklers and scooted over for the score; Joe Burford missed the conversion.

The visitors played all the rugby for the rest of the half, dominating possession despite the line-out functioning a little erratically.

On the half-hour mark, the All Whites counter-attacked, with full back Jan Viskoper weaving his way out of the 22, before finding Birkett who shipped out to Holt who, in turn, passed back inside to Moore. The ball then went through another four pairs of hands before Holt was tackled just short of the line for what would have been the try of the season.

However, the All Whites nudged into an 8-5 interval lead courtesy of a Burford penalty just before half-time.

The second period started well enough for the visitors, although Clevedon came out with a different edge to them as a couple of off-the-ball incidents showed they were not prepared to roll over.

The early skirmishes fizzled out as the All Whites began to dominate up front. Prop Dowrick, who enjoyed a splendid game, was at the forefront as the All Whites' pack ran at their opposite number with renewed vigour before Burford slotted another penalty from 30 yards out to give the All Whites an 11-5 lead.

Then it started to go wrong. Clevedon chipped through and, after a frantic chase, Nick Hudson touched down in the corner, with Johnson managing the extra two points from a difficult angle to make the score 12-11 to the hosts.

In the ensuing protests, winger Alex Moore, who had enjoyed an influential game to this point, managed to get himself ten minutes in the sinbin.

The All Whites were now facing an uphill battle, and their character was further tested when, within five minutes, openside flanker Ben Rowntree received a red card for reacting adversely to something that occurred in a maul moments earlier,

The All Whites' flanker is a player of previously impeccable behaviour, never having been sent off before, so there is good reason to believe that he was provoked severely.

This left the All Whites with only 13 men on the park, but they responded in splendid fashion.

With Moore restored to his position on the wing having served his ten-minute ban, the All Whites, led from the front by Messrs Mabin and Dowrick, took the game to Clevedon.

From a ruck deep into Clevedon territory, scrum half Cane fed Keenan, who beat one man and set off on his own.

Drawing the cover defence and creating space, he then delivered a delightful reverse pass to number eight Damian Chambers, who hammered through the gap then went route one to the line to touch down under the posts. Burford – who was playing his last game before jetting off to New Zealand – missed the conversion to leave the score 19-12 to the All Whites with 12 minutes to go.

Clevedon tried to rally, but faced with a resurgent All Whites they were all but done in.

After Avonmouth Old Boys' defeat at home to St Ives, this win moves the All Whites two points clear of their rivals.

Wth St Ives now moving up to level third, it promises to be an intriguing finish to the season.

Tomorrow sees Newton Abbot take a rest from league action. The All Whites are playing Exeter University and will put out a Club XV. League action returns on Saturday, February 14, when the All Whites entertain Sidmouth.