All Whites deliver champagne rugby in home opener

NEWTON Abbot RFC 1st XV enjoyed a rampant second half on their way to victory against Truro on Saturday, October 3.

The All Whites hosted the Cornish side for their first home game of the season and gave supporters at Rackerhayes plenty to cheer about.

In a cagey first half, Newton’s bright start paid dividends with Jacob Forey heading for the corner and setting up Lawrence White who opened the scoring.

Not for the last time, Jay Barnes slotted a conversion from out near the touchline.

Truro hit back fairly quickly with an unconverted try, cutting the deficit to two points.

Lloyd Radford’s side continued to enjoy plenty of possession but were left wanting in key areas, hindering their own progress.

Mikey Howell atoned for his earlier miss from the tee by successfully kicking a penalty and moving Truro a point clear. Howell began to come to the fore with the boot and his incisive work pushed the visitors closer and closer to the line, only to cough up the ball at the final moment.

It was Truro who struck next with Sam Blake evading a few tackles on his way to a try. Newton had the last laugh of the half though with a ferocious line-out drive eventually being dotted down by Jack Sealey. Both conversions were good, taking the teams into the break at 14-15.

The first event of the second half saw Sam Collett sent to the sin-bin in a seemingly harsh manner. It looked for all the while that he made an honest attempt to tackle scrum-half Owen McLeod but the referee deemed it as a deliberate knock-on.

Newton had to take advantage of this and they definitely did, the forwards edging further phase after phase before the ball went wide for Barnes to cross in clubhouse corner. The centre got back to his feet and made it three conversions from three.

Two let-offs followed at the other end: a certain Truro try was snuffed out by a unnecessary forward pass and then Howell dragged a fairly routine penalty attempt wide.

McLeod, who replaced White at the turnaround, has clearly adapted well to Radford’s “speed over shape” style as he went quick once more, unsettling the Truro defence before Sealey took over and set up George Greenwood for a majestic, mazy run.

The All Whites were given the rub of the green for a second time as Henry Bunclark’s knock-on was missed, the ref giving the hosts a penalty seconds later which led to a fifth try and Barnes’ first missed kick.

Truro showed plenty of spirit all the same and pulled it back to 33-22.

It was Newton Abbot who were playing the champagne rugby though with both Greenwood and Barnes doubling up for the day late on, neither of which were converted, making the final score 43-22.

Coach Radford was “very pleased” to make a winning start at Rackerhayes, noting that it was “Really nice to see the young lads coming through and actually making a decent impact, they’re not just making up the numbers.”

Only a handful of those in the matchday squad were regularly involved last year and several of those new additions are graduates of the club’s youth ranks.

In the second half, his side looked particularly bright going forward which aligns with his philosophy.

“If we’ve got momentum, go with it and play with it. I don’t want us necessarily to slow it down to find the perfect shape, I want us to find a hole, move the ball to the hole and flood the hole and it was really nice to see us do that today.”

For him personally, the “nerves have settled” which is aided by a “really positive team atmosphere.”

The All Whites return to action on Saturday, October 17, when they travel to face Barnstaple IIs.