NEWTON Abbot’s revival at the wrong end of the South West Two table continued with a 20-11 win over fellow relegation worriers Chard.

When you are hovering in or around the relegation area games against the teams around you fall into the ‘must-win’ category. The All Whites have now defeated both sides below them in successive games – Burnham and now Chard – to move six points clear of the bottom two.

Predicting how many sides will be relegated at the end of the season is not an exact science as the trickle-down effect from divisions above can lead to more than two sides dropping out.

But, after a lengthy spell in the doldrums, Newton Abbot’s young side – only three players are aged above 25 – is moving in the right direction.

Chris Thomas, the Newton Abbot team manager, described the win over Chard as “massive” and not quite as close as the scoreline suggested.

“There was never really in fear of us losing the game, but some indifferent officiating for both teams stopped the flow massively for us,” said Thomas.

Newton Abbot’s point scorers were Jed Griffin, Josh Davey and Reuben Brinkley.

The All Whites face a tricky trip to second-placed Crediton this Saturday.