WINGER Dan Pearce scored 29 points as the Cornish All Blacks beat Okehampton in the first league fixture between the two sides at Polson Bridge for 24 years.

The All Blacks went into the game on a four-match winning streak and proved far too good for the visitors, who won the reverse fixture 26-20 back in October.

Despite their recent form, the All Blacks were forced into three changes from their 29-5 win at North Petherton the week before.

Jake Crabb replaced the unavailable Chris McDonald in the second-row while fly-half Glenn Coles and inside-centre Jon Dawe were both injured, meaning there were recalls for Harry Dawe on the wing and Martin Kneebone at full-back. Tom Sandercock shifted from 15 to 12 and Ben Hawke moved from the left-wing to fill the all important fly-half slot.

The home side were first on the scoreboard with a penalty kicked by Dan Pearce on nine minutes but Okehampton responded with a penalty of their own within two minutes through former Polson Bridge favourite, Richard Friend.

Both teams were playing well in worsening conditions, and it was a struggle to distinguish players from their shirts due to the mud.

The All Blacks’ first try came when Clarke found a gap, headed for the line, and passed to skipper Lloyd Duke, who found touch. Pearce converted.

Two Okehampton penalties, and two scrums led to the side’s second try, when a quick pass to Pearce resulted in a sprint for the line. He also made the conversion.

There were a couple of more chances for the All Blacks to score, but they came up against a well-marshaled defence.

They managed to put six more points on the board before half-time, with two further penalties both kicked by Pearce.

The All Blacks went off the boil at the start of the second-half and both sides were reduced to 14-men for a spell as Jake Crabb and Tom McGrattan both spent ten minutes in the sin-bin after a bout of punching.

Okehampton came out fired up and the home side needed to up their challenges.

The home side’s score was boosted further with two more penalties, again kicked by Pearce.

The visitors had nothing to lose now and came back with an unconverted try on the hour by player/coach Martin Harrison-Browne, which was shortly followed by another one.

The All Blacks inexplicably allowed Okehampton to run a penalty some 70-metres away from their own line, and in the end fly-half Dan Fogerty put over a delightful chip for winger Kieran Lee to score. Again Friend missed the conversion.

Okehampton were closing the gap, but the All Blacks still led 29-13 with ten minutes to go.

The number of infringements by the visitors increased, with two more penalties being awarded to the All Blacks.

As the game went into extra time, Pearce ensured there was still enough time for one last try, taking the final score to 34-13.

Skipper Lloyd Duke, admitted that it wasn’t just about winning, but making sure that it was comfortable to send the 662-strong crowd happy.

He said: “The most important thing was obviously to win but we wanted to make sure we did it comfortably and thankfully we did that. To be fair to them, they admitted that we deserved it so it was a really pleasing day.

“In the conditions, which were probably the worst we’ve played in all season, our skill set really shone through and we talked about not making any errors.

“If we’re being honest it wasn’t a very good game to watch but we got the victory and that’s the main thing. Although we’re slightly disappointed not to get the bonus point, we decided to go for goal as much as possible and Dan kicked really well. Going for three points isn’t exactly what we want to be doing but we wanted to make sure we won first and it worked out well in the end. “

Duke mentioned before the game about the importance of the scrum, and paid tribute to the forwards for forcing the Okehampton backwards on plenty of occasions.

He said: “We talked about their scrum and said that’d we have to match them in that department and we more than did that. Early on we put them back a few times and that really lifted us and you could tell it deflated them a little bit because they’re not used to it. Apart from maybe us now, they’ve got the best pack in the league so for us to do that to them was massive.”

Duke praised the contribution of his front three and number eight Torin Clarke.

He said: “Torin was absolutely exceptional and it was probably his best game since he’s come to the club. He beat his men, he created my try and made a couple of crucial interventions as well as being everywhere. Also in the conditions our front row did a great job. Zac Cinnamond is now making a big impact. Not only did he dominate the scrum but he’s carrying really well and that’s what’s setting us apart at the minute.”

The All Blacks are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Teignmouth. The All Blacks gave the Devon side a 60-3 hiding back in the autumn but Duke is wary of the threat they possess.

He said:?“Although Teignmouth are near the bottom and we hammered them at our place they’re doing alright and came back to beat Exeter Uni a couple of weeks ago, so it’s going to be difficult. “We’ll prepare like we would for any other game. Everyone’s really confident at the minute with the run we’re on and I think it’ll take a fair team to beat us because we’re having fun and enjoying ourselves. Once the game is finished, everyone is already excited for next week and that’s a good place to be.”