NEWTON Abbot RFC 1st XV surely put to bed any lingering worries of relegation with an outstanding performance at Rackerhayes on Saturday, April 18.

Head coach Steve Perry labelled it as “a great way to finish at home,” then adding: “It was nice to play some good rugby and throw the ball around well.”

The All Whites are ninth on 50 points now with a trio behind them, all of whom have 42. One of those three is Plymstock Oaks, the side that Newton Abbot just dispatched 52-19.

It was the visitors who took advantage of Newton’s shaky opening and crossed for a converted try right under the posts.

Perry’s side have faced many back-and-forth affairs recently and this one was no different, especially in the first half.

Reuben Brinkley’s first of several line-breaks set them on their way and after good feet from scrum-half Laurence White, Ben Rockey was able to power himself over.

Brinkley and Rockey were involved again but the roles were reversed, the former delivering a strong hand-off and tumbling across the tryline.

Another graduate from the club’s youth setup Jed Griffin added the next try, White converting one of his three kicks to give Newton a 17-7 lead.

Plymstock pulled back seven points of their own just before the break and there was still time for another twist of fate. Experienced fly-half Lewis Paterson had been orchestrating for the Oaks up until this point but he was forced off with an injury, swinging the pendulum further in the direction of the hosts.

It was after the break that Newton Abbot “could pull away a bit and make it easier to watch”, Brinkley making the difference again.

He burst through a hole only for the referee’s premature whistle to deny him a second try of the afternoon but he wouldn’t have to wait long, Brinkley picking out the space once more and flying over. White converted to make it 24-12.

Everyone in attendance could tell that the All Whites were now enjoying themselves, playing some extremely watchable rugby.

A converted Griffin try moved Newton further clear of their opponents only for a yellow card shown to Joe Frost to offer Plymstock a lifeline.

If not for an unfortunate bounce of the ball, it could have got even better, the ball evading the grasp of both White and Brinkley.

Plymstock used the man-advantage to add a third try following a missed tackle on the wing and the conversion rattled the crossbar on its way over.

Any complaints about the earlier bounce were swiftly forgotten as pinpoint kicks through from Jake Monnington and Griffin sat up perfectly, giving Josef Webber a late brace to round out a momentous day for the club. Not before Brinkley danced his way around a human wall to complete his hat-trick though.

As well as celebrating victory from their final home game of the season, it was their past players’ day, plus they paid tribute to Dave ‘Digger’ Whorton with the inaugural Digger Memorial Trophy and to another former player, Vaughan Hosking.

Not for the first time this season, there were standout displays from several of the younger players, something which Perry spoke about.

“I want to shoutout the colts who have come in at the end of the season and have made a tremendous difference.”

George Greenwood, Barney Stancombe and Laurence White were a trio of those involved on the weekend.

As previously mentioned, Newton are ahead of the bottom three but as Director of Rugby Mike Saxton highlighted, “Nobody really knows how many teams are going up and down but today has definitely helped us out either way.”

The All Whites will travel to Saltash on Saturday, April 25, for their last game of the campaign.