LAUNCESTON man-of-the-match Charlie Tummon admitted their struggles in the scrum contributed massively to their first home defeat of the season on Saturday in Regional One South West.

In dire conditions at Polson Bridge due to the weekend storms, Exmouth raced into a 21-0 lead at the break with the elements in their favour courtesy of a penalty try and further tries from Cellan Bale Michael and Fin Marks which were both added to by scrum-half Tom Lomax.

Launceston scored two tries by the hour in the second half via forwards George Harris and Mitch Hawken to get within a converted score, however a late penalty try from the Devonians ensured they moved above the Cornishmen in the table.

Tummon, who received a yellow card for his part in Exmouth’s first try, was otherwise outstanding, but admitted Exmouth’s hefty pack had the edge.

Speaking at full-time, he said: “The scrum wasn’t great, but I felt the line-out wasn’t too bad considering the conditions. I felt we fronted up and did what we could, but it was a shame we couldn’t get a foothold in the scrum. It affected the game massively, gave them the edge and fair play to Exmouth, they turned up and put in a shift.”

Conditions also worsened as the game went on which reduced options at the line-out.

He continued: “The first half wasn’t too bad, but the wind picked up in the second half which means you can only really go to the front or the back, and that makes it so much easier to defend against. We did alright at times and got a couple of tries, but there’s still plenty to work on.”

Launceston visit Weston-super-Mare on Saturday (2.30pm), while the in-form Castles, who saw their clash at Perranporth postponed, welcome St Agnes in Counties Two Cornwall.

Launceston ladies make the long trip to Henley in Women’s Championship South West Two on Sunday.