BATTLING Wellington put up a splendid show before losing 18-13 away to highflyers Tiverton in Regional Two South West.

They eventually lost out to a try 15 minutes from the end after being on level terms at one stage in the second half.

Wellington, beaten 66-10 at home by the Devon side in November, stayed on level terms for the opening 15 minutes before Tiverton broke the deadlock with a try and added another five-pointer after 20 minutes.

But Wellington hit back after 25 minutes with a try by Ollie Price which was converted by Alex Davey, leaving only three points separating the teams.

And this is how it remained until half time with Wellington, unexpectedly, very much in the game against a side lying third in the table and chasing promotion.

Both sides kicked penalties early in the second half as Wellington kept in touch with their near neighbours at 13-10, with the visitors’ points coming from the boot of Davey.

And Davey was on target again when he landed another penalty leaving the score on 13-13 after 55 minutes.

Having not won a game for six weeks, Wellington were in with a very real chance of pulling off a shock result after giving their rivals a two-try start early on in the game.

However, Tiverton had other ideas and scored an unconverted try to go 18-13 up after 65 minutes .

Wellington, though, could not respond with neither sides scoring again and Tiverton winning a hard-fought match to complete the season’s double over their opponents.

Wellington, however, could look back on their performance with plenty of pride, having kept in the match right to the end. It also means they go to struggling Truro on Saturday, March 8, with plenty of confidence.