THE new year got off to a great start for Teignmouth as they easily brushed aside Somerset outfit Wells to secure a bonus point victory and improve their chances of survival in South West One.

The early exchanges saw the home side squander a couple of decent chances to take the lead, but within 16 minutes they were already 14-nil up and on their way to that elusive victory.

First, full-back Danny Luffman used his pace to score his seventh try of the season. Then, five minutes later, scrum-half Dan Force spotted a gap to squeeze over from five metres; Force converted both tries.

Teigns continued to dominate, but ironically only managed to increase their lead when youngster Jack Bowen received a yellow card after the referee had issued his side with a warning over persistent ruck infringements.

Although Aaron Cook slotted the resultant penalty, this setback seemed to spur the home side on, and the final ten minutes of the half saw them claim the bonus point with two almost identical tries from centre Luke Pattison. On both occasions he benefited from superb breaks from Will Sowden, appearing on the shoulder of his co-centre at just the right moment to complete the move.

Force converted the first of the brace and the hosts went into the interval 26-3 ahead.

The visitors had shown little evidence to justify their mid-table status, but clearly their coach had harsh words to say in the break and they were out of the blocks like a shot in the second half, scoring tries through George Killen and Alex Knight, both of which were converted by Cook.

Although it seemed that Teignmouth might fold at that point, they reorganised and played much of the final quarter in Wells’ half.

The superiority of the home pack, particularly at the set-piece, finally paid off in the 78th minute when a five-metre scrum was easily forced over the visitors’ line for man-of-the-match Jamie Gray to touch down.

Although Force missed the conversion, he slotted an injury-time penalty to give his side a well-deserved 17 point victory.

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