Tribute South West One West
Ivybridge 28,
Avonmouth Old Boys 13
Ivybridge face a massive game this Saturday when they travel up to north Devon to take on Bideford hoping to gain revenge and strengthen their grip on second place in the league writes Tim Leigh.
However, first team coach Neil Thomson was under no illusions about the test facing his side, with Bideford on a good run of form which has seen them score 30 points in each of their last two games, winning both.
Bideford triumphed at Cross-in-Hand earlier in the season in grim conditions, and Thomson was optimistic that the weather this weekend may suit his side a little better.
He said: 'Bideford are a pack-oriented side, if it stays dry we'll be looking to get our running game going and move them around a bit.
'A win on Saturday would be massive. We know we need a result, there's five games to go, we have a job to do, we just need to keep going.
'Our season has been above expectations, we were targeting a top six finish at the beginning, now we're aiming for the promotion spots.
'We had 32 people at training this week, the development team won well against Torquay, everyone at the club is excited.'
Last weekend saw a professional performance from Ivybridge when they took on Old Boys, having the game pretty much wrapped up by half time.
A brace of tries from winger Max Snowden sandwiched one from lock George Wilson, helping them build a 23-3 lead at the end of the first period.
vonmouth came back into it in the second half, but Ivybridge defended well and added the crucial bonus-point try when Justin Rogers was on hand to dot down a pushover score from the forwards. Fly-half Matt Grieveson kicked the remaining points.
Thomson was pleased with the manner of victory and the five points earned, saying: 'We started really well, in the first half we just kept the pressure on and kept forcing mistakes.
'They tightened up a bit second half, credit to them, but the job was done by then really. Five points is what we wanted.'
The match was not unadulterated good news for Ivybridge, however, with full-back and leading try scorer Tom Scoles going off with a tight hamstring and George Wilson also being replaced.
Ivybridge's squad development, however, means the coaching staff will not be unduly concerned.
Thomson made special mention of the performance of referee Kris Connebeer, saying: 'It was a pleasure to be refereed by Kris, he didn't let the penalty count get stupid and he was communicating with the players all the time during the game, which makes such a difference.'