IVYBRIDGE RFC 1st XV were edged out of the South West Two play-off frame by a 33-17 defeat at Crediton.

The Bridge went into one of their games in hand fifth in the table, which is the bare minimum to reach the promotion play-offs.

Crediton, still smarting from the defeat at Okehampton last time out that ended their seven-game winning streak, came from behind for a victory that took them into the top five at Ivybridge’s expense.

It was a setback rather than a disaster for Ivybridge, who will fancy their prospects of regaining a top five spot this Saturday. They are at home to lowly Cullompton while Crediton face second-in-the-table Tiverton.

An Owen Alp try, converted by Charlie Teague, gave the Bridge a 7-0 lead at half time. By the time Eden Quantock scored their second try, Crediton had all 33 of their points on the board.

Steve Atkinson, the Ivybridge coach, was phlegmatic about the whys and wherefores of this defeat.

“Sometimes it’s just not your day in rugby and we’ll dust ourselves off and go again next week,” said Atkinson.

“We didn’t give up all game. And to be fair to the lads, they dug in and we managed to get one back late on. It was little too late I think.”

Atkinson said Ivybridge struggled to match the referee’s expectations at times and it proved costly.

“I think the penalty count was something like 14-2 going into the half-time break, but it was a close game and we were still in it,” he said.

Atkinson said Crediton seemed to manage the referee better, which worked against his team

“Crediton’s game plan was to really slow our ruck speed by lying all over everything,” claimed Atkinson.

“They obviously did their homework and know that, regardless of the conditions, we like to play high-tempo rugby. They slowed the game right down.

“There was a period in the second half of really slow ball, a jump into the tackle that was missed and they scored a couple of tries on the bounce.”