The first proper contact of the new season saw both sides in determined mood with the West defence superb throughout.
We went into the game missing half the side who finished the last game of last season, and a handful of those lads are unlikley to start the new league campaign because of injury.
But that gave an opportunity to some of the younger players and they certainly took it. There wasn't a bad performance on the pitch with Zac Southern [pictured] returning from a season long injury and looking accomplished at fly half, where he had to play the full 80 as Tom Wilson failed to recover from shin splints.
The West back row of Dan Boatman, Sam Miller and Alex Barker always had the edge to give the platform for a deserved overall 26-17 victory against a strong Westoe outfit.
We were on the back foot for the first quarter, with some big tackles from the likes of Adam Coates and Peter Youll keeping Westoe out. When we got the opportunity to break out Zac Southern sent Colin Cheslin in for a converted try.
The second quarter went to Westoe by 10-7 with our score coming from an unlikely combination. Seventeen year old Colts scrum half Baden Knibbs looked assured from the moment he came on for his senior debut. He capped it with a delightful floated pass over the cover to send veteran Jon Cole galloping in at the corner. Southern added a superb conversion.
The third quarter saw a 12-0 scoreline in our favour and the try of the game. A flowing move up the right wing saw Sam Miller and Luke Mallinson swap passes before an inside ball eluded Jordan Baggs, but it was snapped up by Southern who went over. Mallinson also scored to mark his own return from serious injury.
Westoe took the final quarter 7-0 with West attacking at the end and Peter Youll just failing to get over the line. Nevertheless it was a performance which bodes well for a long hard league season - the young lads who stepped up to the plate will only get better.
West: Jack Angus, Andrew Rollins, Adam Coates, Jay Corbett, Alex Johnson, Alex Barker, Dan Boatman, Sam Miller, Ryan Painter, Zac Southern, Peter Youll, Luke Mallinson, Matt Tyers, Andrew Cheslin, Colin Cheslin, Baden Knibbs, CeeJay Beales, Jon Cole, Joe Rafferty, Jordan Baggs, Craig Hadwen, Luke Chapman, Nathan Wales, Callum Johnson.