Brixham 28
Old Patesians 40
Old Patesians concluded their centenary season in National League Three South West with a crackerjack bonus-points victory over Brixham, writes Bob Ellis.
The win was sweet revenge for Pats after they were battered 67-26 by the Fisherman in their opening game of the season at Everest Road in September.
Astley Park was bathed in warm spring sunshine and the conditions were ideal for a fast open game.
Cobra-like Brixham struck and scored within 30 seconds from the kick-off.
Pats, it seemed, were still recovering from the long coach trip down the M5 and a missed tackle allowed Brixham's outstanding centre Matt Crosscombe to score a try in the left-hand corner, converted by fly-half Ben Lovell.
Pats' strength this year when their mojo is up and running is the ability of the forwards to dominate a scrum time and this match was no expectation.
Ever-present props James King, Connor Thompson and hooker Rob White controlled the channel on their first scrum feed and clean quick ball from a stable platform saw centre James Butler use his pace and strength to touch down for an unconverted try in a the right-hand corner.
Brixham are a proven mean and hard side packed with quality players.
With 14 wins under their belts, they now gave the Pats defence a thorough examination which the visitors passed with flying colours.
Wingers Dan Burrows and Will Kane were up against real fliers on the flanks but their determination to turn, catch and bundle into touch the Brixham paceman was excellent throughout.
Butler landed his second unconverted try when another sweeping move from a solid scrum created space for him to cross the line wide out.
Pats held on to the lead for only a few minutes before Crosscombe nutmegged a slightly hesitant dog-legged defensive line for his second try, again converted by Lovell.
This was high-octane explosive end-to-end stuff, appreciated by the large crowd, and when Brixham collapsed a scrum, Pats second row Josh Stevens finished off a tap-and-go penalty with an inspirational try, converted by fly-half Brett Turner.
Brixham had the edge in the lineout but Pats' athletic blindside wing forward Nathan Riley is a fierce competitor and managed to poach two of the hosts' throws in succession before he was blamelessly pinged and yellow-carded for slapping a hand that was illegally tugging at his shirt.
Pats temporarily lost their momentum in the tight and Brixham number eight Jarryd Harris took advantage of the extra man for a try.
Lovelly kicked the easy conversion to give Brixham a 21-17 lead at half-time.
When Pats have both forwards and backs operating in unison they are as good as any side in the league and they bossed the second half.
Scrum-half Matt Mudway, restored to the side for the umpteenth time, opened his Pandora's box of tricks with mischievous sniping runs and beautifully-weighted box kicks to give his chasers every chance to nail home territorial advantage.
He was well supported in the aerial battle by Turner and full-back Stu Taylor, who apart from their more than capable duties as midfield generals, kicked wonderfully well to secure long-distance touch finds.
Game time was flying by but the referee broke up the exciting rhythm with a plethora of cards.
Pats lost flanker Tom Langton and second row James Stickland to the sin-bin for technical fouls and they were joined by Brixham centre Ian Morgan for a punch and then a straight red card for try-scorer Jarryd Harris for a fairly innocuous tip tackle.
During this mayhem Pats ploughed their way to a famous victory with three penalty goals and two conversions for Turner and a try apiece for Riley and Burrows.
Brixham picked up their only score in the second half with a try for prop Nick Stoneman, converted by Lovell, but the day belonged to Pats for whom every man had given his all for the club.
Brixham: J Shone, T Goodman, M Crosscombe, I Morgan, H Davis, B Lovell, R Champion, R Hopkins, C Bryce, N Stoneman, L Maggs, D Flashman, S Thomas, A Glanville, J Harris. Replacements (all used on rolling interchane ruling): G Williams, D Pitt,J Green.
Old Patesians: S Taylor, W Kane, J Aherne, J Butler, D Burrows, B Turner, M Mudway, J King, R White, C Thompson, J Stickland, J Stevens, N Riley, T Langton, J Pettigrew. Replacements (all used on rolling interchane ruling except D Eddie): B White, P Bennett, D Eddie.
Star man: Pats second-row forward Josh Stevens
