CREDITON 21 - BIDEFORD 16

ALTHOUGH second from bottom, Bideford have had a resurgence in form and results making our comfortable 32-5 victory in North Devon back in September not much use as a guide to current form.

The opening half-hour of this game played on January 5 was scoreless with defences very much on top.

Bideford controlled much of the possession without really creating very much in the way of try scoring opportunities whereas when we had the ball, we did look more threatening but tended to give away penalties when in good positions. Not the first time this has happened during the season and maybe something which should be addressed.

A Bideford penalty after 30 minutes set the scoreboard moving and also brought a 10-minute breather for No 8 Ben Wonnacott. However, within minutes Ollie Avery-Wright had levelled things with a penalty when Bideford were caught offside.

Immediately from the restart, Bideford worked their way up field and again we were penalised although the referee allowed the advantage and after a few more phases they scored in the corner to reach the interval with a five-point lead.

Things got worse for us early in the second half as Bideford kicked a penalty to the corner and the resulting lineout produced a classic catch and drive try for their No 8, fortunately the conversion was missed but we now found ourselves two scores adrift.

A couple of Avery-Wright penalties got us to within touching distance but again Bideford responded with a penalty to extend the lead to seven points with 15 minutes remaining.

It was now our turn to put the visitors under pressure and for them to concede penalties. After opting to take a scrum some 10 metres out and then with another penalty coming our way the referee again allowed the advantage and the ball was worked out to winger Gareth Mason who went over in the corner to register his first try for the Club.

Despite the pressure of the kick which would draw us level, Avery-Wright made no mistake from the touchline and at 16-all I think the home crowd would have been happy with the outcome.

Bideford stormed back but rather like ourselves in the first half, conceded a penalty when in a good position allowing us to clear upfield.

With the game entering the final minute, we had a penalty some 10 metres out and a quick tap and go and a pass later, Wonnacott was in for the winning try.

The conversion, although wide off the mark, was indeed the last action in the game, much to the relief of the home support and players and dismay to the Bideford contingent.

This was certainly a tough way to start the New Year and perhaps a lack of rugby for the best part of three weeks was not the best preparation.

However, the players showed considerable character to come from 10 points behind to snatch victory in the last play of the game, reminiscent of the game at Torquay at the end of last season.

An impressive debut off the bench for Ethan Pearce was another plus adding to the constant flow of Colts making the grade at First Fifteen level.

That was effectively the first game of the second half of the season and we have now passed the total number of points that we gained during the entire 2017-18 season.

In addition, the win keeps us in contention for a place in the final of the Devon Intermediate Cup. The competition has been revised this season and the results of league games between the Devon Clubs in WCW will count in the competition with the top two playing the final at the end of April.

With four games left to play in that competition, we are in second place, four points behind Sidmouth and six points clear of Tiverton.

With three of those four games at home, there is every chance that we should make the final.

Tomorrow, Saturday, January 12, we visit Chard who have surprisingly slipped into the relegation battle, they looked a decent side when they visited Blagdon back in September as we struggled to get the better of them before winning 13-3.

The form book would suggest a victory for us but of course anything could happen!

We follow that game with two home games against Winscombe and Falmouth before travelling to Wellington for the rescheduled fixture which was postponed on December 15 and 22.

BARNSTAPLE SECONDS 54 - CREDITON SECONDS 17

Player unavailability at all levels this week created problems for the Seconds and Thirds but nonetheless we made the journey to North Devon with a representative Second Fifteen.

It was always a tough place to go, Barum are having a good season in the Merit Table and whilst we competed well, the home side proved too good.

We were not helped by the late notification of an early kick off which gave the players much less time to prepare once they arrived at the ground.

Apparently, Barnstaple is in a different time zone to the rest of the country as I was reliably informed that it gets dark earlier up there than it does anywhere else.

The confusion at the start meant we were 15 points down in as many minutes but once we settled down we had reduced the arrears to a single point by half-time.

Sadly, a very disappointing second half, we shipped another 39 points and our replay was a solitary Tom Ronchetti drop goal.

Tom O’Donnell and Chris Hooper scored the tries both of which were converted by Ronchetti.

Things will not get any easier for the Seconds throughout January as they face Okehampton tomorrow at home followed by two away games at Newton Abbot and Brixham.

BIDEFORD SECONDS 46 - CREDITON THIRDS 12

A few miles further West and the Third Fifteen found themselves back in the same time zone as the rest of us and happily kicked off at 2.30pm!

Unfortunately, we were severely short of players and travelled to Bideford with a mere 10 men. On the bright side though, the spirit of rugby shone through and our hosts loaned us sufficient players to make an even numbered game.

Our players deserve enormous credit for travelling, it is not unknown for some teams to cry off when they are down to a dozen or so.

It meant that ultimately a couple of dozen players had a game of rugby that they might otherwise have missed out on had we not made the effort and Bideford not entered into the spirit of the game.

Well done both Clubs, that is why rugby is such a great game. For the record, John Gurzynski scored a try for the Thirds to go along with a penalty try.

TEIGNMOUTH COLTS 29 - CREDITON COLTS 37

Another impressive performance from the Colts who have now won 13 of their 15 games this season.

At Teignmouth, a side ranked higher than ourselves in the Cup competition, we controlled most of the game and a couple of driving maul tries plus a further four from excellent back play, saw us ahead 32-12 mid-way through the second half.

Teignmouth hit back with three breakaway tries in the space of five minutes to bring them back to within five points.

Fortunately, we did regain our composure and finished the game with another try to seal a victory which really should have been more comfortable than it turned out.

Josh Woodland grabbed four tries to bring his tally to 21 in nine games; Will Crang, Tobias Whittaker and Callum Yeandle each added a try with Owen Cooper landing a conversion.

Paul Harris