For some time now Teignmouth coach Simon Morrell has been telling anyone who would listen that Chard are in a false position near the bottom of the table, and Saturday’s result (34-nil) more than confirmed this.

In probably the worst conditions experienced in this most unpleasant of seasons weather-wise, Chard simply steamrollered their way through the mud and the puddles and there was little that skipper Colin Aldworth and his pack could do about it.

Both sides deserve the utmost credit for playing on through the storm, but it was Chard who walked away with the valuable five points from this bonus point victory.

They took an early lead through skipper Ryan Helliar and Chad Northcott added a penalty soon after. With the Teigns down to 14 men when Sonny Rowe saw yellow following a scrum infringement, it was only a matter of time before the lead was increased with a penalty try which the referee awarded for a collapsed scrum.

Sadly for the Teigns, he seemed to have got that call wrong as it was plain to see that it was Chard who took the scrum down. Nevertheless, Northcott added the conversion and there was only one winner from there on.

One-way traffic in the second half saw Chard add three more tries through Gosden, Mike Parsons and a second penalty try, two of which Northcott converted, and it was a blessed relief to everyone when the referee called an early end to proceedings because of the worsening conditions.

Morrell claimed the defeat was a ‘setback rather than a disaster’, and immediately looked forward to this weekend’s match against bottom-of-the-table Coney Hill. Kick-off at Bitton Park will be at 3pm.

READ THE FULL STORY IN FRIDAY’S PAPER.