Cherries on top in a fabulous Torbay rugby derby for Christmas

Paignton Rugby Club will enter the Christmas break sitting second in the Tribute Western West Division after a fascinating 24-19 victory at local rivals Torquay Athletic.

In a cracking game, which was a full credit to both clubs, the Cherries were outstanding in the first period and raced into a 19-0 lead with tries from Josh Gillard, Tom Osborn and Jordan Hodge.

The Tics, however, had no intention of rolling over and battled back to make the second half a terrific contest. Ultimately, a further score from Harry Woodward got the job done for the Cherries.

Paignton Head Coach Martin Worthing said: “It was a typical derby game in every sense. The moment the whistle blew, any semblance of a game plan went straight out the window — passion, pride and pure chaos took over.

“We started fairly well, looked composed early on and managed to put some points on the board with a couple of well-worked scores. That said, we left plenty out there in the first half — missed opportunities, handling errors in promising positions and a few penalties that released pressure on Torquay Rugby Club.

“To their credit, Torquay stayed in the fight and struck early in the second half with a try that pulled them right back into the contest. From there it was end-to-end, bruising derby rugby. They grew in confidence, took the game to us and pushed us all the way to the wire in the closing minutes.

“It probably wasn’t a great game for the neutral — but hearts were firmly in mouths until the final whistle, and both sides left absolutely everything on the pitch.

“That’s derby day: plans abandoned, raw effort on show — and five points heading into the Christmas break, which is exactly what we wanted.”