Report courtesy of the Herald Express

11:00 - 03 December 2007

Torquay Athletic posted a win for the first time in four starts in a mud-caked affair that got bogged down in the conditions at times.

An early try by James Boyce settled Torquay nerves, which were a bit fragile after successive defeats by Exmouth, St Mary's and Barnstaple.The game never fully opened up, but there was never much chance of Barton Hill coming from behind to win either.

"The early score definitely helped us as three narrow defeats have taken their toll a bit and it was nice to be in front," said coach Drew Powell.

"We played some good rugby on occasions, but didn't always finish it off with points on the board.

"Mistakes were made in scoring positions, and a few decisions went against us, but overall it went pretty well.

"The result was never really in doubt as Barton Hill didn't have a lot to threaten us with. When they got close to our line we dealt with them without many difficulties."

Matt Jackson added a penalty to Boyce's try before half time. Flanker Tom Havill rolled out of a maul to add another with skipper Ben Passenger having the final word with a short-range run near the end.

Clevedon's defeat at Exmouth allowed Torquay to clamber above the Somerset side into fourth place at the halfway stage in the season.