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South West One West

Wells 12,

Ivybridge 13

Ivybridge will welcome Matson to Cross-in-Hand tomorrow looking for their fourth win on the bounce, but may have to do without the services of fly-half Matt Grieveson writes Tim Leigh.

Grieveson picked up a dead leg in last Saturday's nail-biting away win against Wells, and first team coach Neil Thomson was waiting to see how he fared on the physio's table before making a decision.

Club captain Gareth Elliott should be fit and raring to go, although Tom Scoles's run-out against Wells proved he will need a couple more weeks before returning to first-team action.

Thomson was hoping that George DeMendonca, who is still around while on holiday from university, may be able to make an appearance at Matson as Ivybridge look to keep their run of form going.

Thomson was pleased with his side's commitment and organisation last weekend, saying: 'I thought it was a better performance than the week before, on a narrow pitch in difficult conditions, it was a really good team effort.

'The boys are enjoying themselves again, we had good numbers at training despite the weather, we just want to keep on winning.'

He reserved special praise for back row forward Justin Rogers, saying: 'I thought Justin was outstanding all game, but all the players showed what they can do, including players from the development team, which is a really good sign.'

Ivybridge started the game in fine fettle, dominating possession and territory, but being met by an implacable defence as Wells repelled everything Ivies could throw at them for the first quarter of an hour.

However, the sheer amount of pressure told in the end, with the visitors opening the scoring on 16 minutes when a beautiful flip pass by Grieveson found forward Elliott Worrall lurking out wide to cross the try line. Grieveson missed the very difficult kick in testing conditions but Ivy had the lead 0-5.

Wells came back into the game and the two evenly matched teams tussled for territory and possession in the second quarter, but it looked as if the half would end with the same score.

Ivybridge, however, produced a spell of their best rugby just before the break, despite having lost player/coach Lewis Paterson to injury.

They kept their shape well and won a penalty, which they opted to kick to the corner. They were kept out the first time, but Wells did infringe again, allowing Ivybridge to repeat the tactic, which this time paid dividends.

They won the line-out and after a catch and drive move, George Wilson touched down to double the visitors' advantage at the half-time whistle, 0-10.

When the game restarted, Wells showed what a dangerous side they can be as a flowing attack saw them cross in the corner, their kicker pulling off an outrageous touchline conversion to reduce the deficit to 7-10.

Another period of intense but pointless action ensued, both defences having to be at the top of their games as possession and territory swung back and forth.

Ivybridge broke the deadlock on 60 minutes when Luke Martell, who took over the kicking duties after Grieveson went off with a dead leg, slotted a straightforward penalty to increase the lead to 7-13.

Again, however, Wells showed their spirit in front of a noisy home crowd, scoring another try in the corner with just 10 minutes left to play.

Their kicker could not repeat his trick with the conversion, however, meaning Ivybridge held a one-point advantage with time running out.

Showing all their character, organisation and commitment, they snuffed out any Wells threats and played the game out to earn a well-deserved victory.

Their third win in a row takes them back up to second in the table, four points clear of third-placed Bridgewater and Albion.