South West One

WESTON 28 pts EXMOUTH 16 pts

DANIEL Fry and James Mackay made major contributions as Weston defeated Exmouth by two goals, a try and three penalties to two tries and two penalties at the Recreation Ground.

Fry scored two first-half tries and Mackay's haul of 18 points meant the Devonians were never ahead.

There was also a significant return to form for Paul Sprague who was largely responsible for the first and final tries and he set the ball rolling in the opening seconds when his kick and chase forced Exmouth to minor.

A minute later, Fry touched down from the resultant five-metre scrum for Mackay to convert and Fry's second try arrived in the 18th minute.

Mackay had just failed with a long penalty attempt but Fry, having received the 22 restart, ran through the defenders to score a superb solo try at the right corner.

Mackay's conversion was narrowly wide, but he kicked the first of his penalties after the Cockles had replied with Tom Elliott's try.

Weston then became careless with possession and were punished when Ben Hough's penalty brought the interval score back to 15-8.After the break, Weston's wayward kicking did them no favours and they took 15 minutes to settle down, but when they did, Mackay's brace of penalties gave them a good view of the winning post.

But Exmouth, using their bulky pack, refused to surrender and Ashley Russell's intervention into a break by Howe saved a probable seven points.

Russell's action resulted in a shoulder injury which forced his retirement, but not before Sprague had run down the left to present Mackay with a try at the posts which he converted himself.

At the end of the match, skipper David Burge commented that after the team's poor start to the season, things were slowly starting to come together.

He added: "We will be targeting Oxford Harlequins for a home win on December 20 to end the first half of the season on a high note. Although the trip to Bournemouth this Saturday will not be easy, the players will be keen to upset the odds."