Exmouth head coach Jon Hill hopes the pain of losing the Devon derby to Newton Abbot will be taken out on Old Centralians this Saturday.
The Cockles were unbeaten at the top of the table before running into the All Whites at Rackerhayes last Saturday – and with an 18-0 lead after as many minutes, their record looked safe.
Newton made it 18-12 by half-time and then came from 25-12 down to win 27-25 thanks to an injury-time penalty.
And Hill was the first to praise Newton Abbot for their strengths and point out where it went wrong for his side.
"The better side won on the day as Newton Abbot were clinical in the final third and we weren't," said Hill.
"If we had won it, I would have said we were lucky. Newton were good value for their win, and showed tremendous character to respond to being 18-0 down.
"It was certainly an avoidable loss – taking absolutely nothing away from Newton – as we made two huge defensive errors where individuals flew out of a disciplined defensive shape, and Newton are a very good side who were able to exploit these errors.
"We had six or seven good try-scoring chances that we blew in part due to excellent defence from Newton, but also individual errors, which proved costly.
"We spent nine-and-a-half minutes within seven metres of their try line in the game without scoring a point, and that is something that we must rectify if we are to push on.
"Additionally, turning down a penalty kick at goal with only three minutes left and opting to kick for the corner when we were only losing by two was, in hindsight, the wrong decision."
"The response to this defeat will be interesting as there was complete silence at the end of the game in our team huddle," Hill continued.
"There are certainly lessons to be learned. As long as we learn from them, we will come back stronger and can become a better side."
A large Newton Abbot crowd certainly got value for money as the game swung one way then the other.
Exmouth wing Richard Bright went in for two tries in the corner, with Rob Avery-Wright converting the first and landing two penalties.
Newton scored two tries in the space of four minutes, both as a result of long-distance attacks by Kyle Browne, with one converted by Josh Smith. When Exmouth drove over for another try three minutes into the second half – prop Shane Cooper receiving the credit – Newton were 25-12 down.
A Smith double – one self-converted – left Newton a point down with 13 minutes to go.
The game had moved into injury-time when Exmouth gave away a penalty under their posts, and Smith knocked it over.
Exmouth stay top of the table, but chasers Hornets and Brixham are now within two points.
"You can see why Exmouth view us as a bogey side as that's the last three games in the league against them we have won," said Newton's director of rugby Roy Henderson.
"Exmouth did us a favour in the second half by kicking the ball up the middle at us, which allowed our runners to strike back at them."
Newton were struggling with injury problems before the match – Alex Smith, Dan Williams and Tom McGrattan were all missing in the pack – and lost Alex Moore on the flank and Will Cole at prop before half-time.
When hooker Dean Avery went down in the second half, Newton feared having to go to dreaded uncontested scrums and having to drop a player as well. Fortunately, he was able to carry on.
Newton go straight from one Devon derby into another this Saturday as they hit the road to Barnstaple.
Prop Matt Finn and flanker Ben Smith will come into the reckoning after impressing in the second XV – and Smith as a former Barum player will be itching to play.
Barnstaple are bouncing around in the drop zone at the moment with just two wins to their name.
They have yet to win at home in the league this season, but Henderson claims that is no reason to expect a Newton victory.
"You know what they say about derbies – the form book goes out of the window," he said.
"Barnstaple are always well supported and no game there is ever easy.
"You can be sure they will raise their game against us and anything less than our best performance could cost us."
