IVYBRIDGE RFC 1st XV missed out on a place in the South West Two promotion play-offs when they were held to a 31-all draw by Winscombe.

Had the Bridge beaten the Somerset villagers, they would have finished fifth and been heading for a promotion play-off this Saturday against Tiverton.

Instead, it will be Crediton going into the first tranche of play-off games thanks to a marginally superior playing record.

Crediton and Ivybridge finished level in the final table on 64 points each. Crediton go through thanks to a points difference 29 greater than Ivybridge’s.

Steve Atkinson, the Ivybridge coach, said while disappointed to miss out on the play-offs this season, the signs are encouraging for 2026-27.

“It is a bit of weird feeling as we wanted to push for the play-off spot, but Crediton have just pipped us to it,” said Atkinson, who took over following Ivybridge being relegated from South West One this time last year.

“There have been lots of positives from this season though and we’ve managed to complete most of the goals we set out as a coaching team.

“Now we are really looking forward to next season and seeing what we can do with the lads we have now, and also the lads coming through.”

Winscombe and Ivybridge went toe-to-toe for an hour in a running total of 24-all. Ivybridge were never behind in that period, but never far enough ahead for long enough to feel comfortable.

Jack Skinner, James Cantin (2) and Seb Musgrove were the try scorers. Charlie Teague kicked two conversions.

Winscombe went ahead for the first time with a converted try, but back came Ivybridge with an Adam Lilley score. Teague kicked the conversion to level it again.

“I thought we might have nicked it at the end but, the same as the away game at Wadebridge recently, we just couldn’t execute when we were close to their line,” said Atkinson.

On a disappointing day all round for Ivybridge, the 2nd XV suffered a 33-5 defeat by Old Plymothians in Devon One.

If two teams are relegated automatically from Devon One this season – and that

Is not certain yet due to trickle-down from divisions above – Ivybridge will definitely be one of them.

Another option could be whether there is a play-off for a relegation spot, and whether that is for the second or third-from-bottom finisher? Ultimately, the issue facing league managers is juggling the numbers to get 12 teams in each division at the start of next season.

Said Atkinson: “Having come up from the division below it would be a shame if we do go back down.

“If we do we will regroup and go again next season, hopefully with better availability, which has been an issue all year.”