'Lacklustre' performance leads to disappointment for the Tonites

For Saturday's league game it was a case of a short trip over to Cullompton, to renew old acquaintances.

Both sides have been in different leagues for many a year and with Cullompton coming down and Honiton going up, this is the first time in long while that the two teams have met on level terms at senior level.

Both sides have struggled thus far this season and there was a lot to play for, as points for both sides this season will be hard to come by.

Credit to the home ground staff after a night of heavy rain, the pitch was in very good condition and with a sponsor lunch and a healthy crowd, the stage was set for a good old-fashioned local derby.

Cullompton started brightly and had the lion's share of ground and possession mainly because Honiton couldn't seem to look after the ball when they had possession.

For some inexplicable reason the Ton looked lethargic and laboured and were unable to get any traction into the game and as mentioned, with a wealth of inexplicable handling errors, they were often seen coughing up possession unnecessarily.

What with being under the cosh at scrum time, the home side were the ones who were able to apply the pressure.

Cully were first on the score sheet with a penalty and this was added to on the 20 minute mark.

Honiton were further hampered with more injury woes as first Spanish signing David Morales left the field with a hip injury and then full back James Coutts-Tucker, had to leave as well with suspected concussion.

This error-strung half for the Ton continued and with time running out the home side crossed out wide for a try and they went into half time with a healthy 11 points - too good an advantage, without Honiton even looking like troubling the score sheet.

The return of Matt Bailey seemed to shore up the scrum but again Honiton seemed lacklustre and really struggled to put any good passages of play together.

Adding to the woes, Cullompton powered over for a kickable try early on and Honiton's backs were definitely to the wall.

With tails up the home side stuck the knife in and they scored again and with that, the result was secured and the bonus try followed soon after.

Honiton did get on the score sheet in the final minute when a move down the right saw Matt Baily cross for a consolation score ,but Honiton were well beaten by a score line of 30-5.

This was a very disappointing performance all round and perhaps one to forget and as with the previous week, this was another very beatable team.

The reality is though, you have to show up if you want to make this happen and with every point going to be hard to find this season - the last two week's results have been tough to take for the loyal supporters.

Next week is a rest week, with the World Cup final being played, but for the Ton it will be a good time to try and regroup and reflect on the fact as a collective they clearly have the ability but this will only happen with hard work and working together.

The next game is a home fixture against Falmouth in a fortnight's time.