SITUATED as we are in the middle of the County it could be argued that we have several Clubs in close proximity that would fall into the “local derby” category.

Of course Tiverton are the first Club that springs to mind and our association with them has already been covered. However, another Club that we would consider as a local derby is Okehampton, against whom we have had many battles during the past 125 years at all levels, firsts, seconds, thirds, and Colts have all had a long history of competing against each other.

In the early years, Okehampton were a regular feature on our Second XV list and the first recorded game between the two sides was played on October 26, 1895 when Crediton Second XV won 28-0. It was reported that this was the newly formed Okehampton Club’s first game.

The return game a month later was drawn 0-0 and then in January 1896 another drawn game at Okehampton. However, Okehampton were reported by some of their own supporters for the use of bad language!

Whether that was the reason why there were no further games between the Clubs until 1905 is uncertain but the relationship resumed and continued until 1910 during which time Crediton Seconds lost only once.

Times were difficult for rugby Clubs and there were no further fixtures until 1921. Since then, fixtures continued annually as a First team fixture although there were still a few games where our Seconds played.

It took until October 7, 1933 for Okehampton to record a First XV victory and indeed we continued to dominate winning the majority of games, all but nine were won up to 1970.

During that same period, our Seconds played Okehampton Firsts with some success winning nine of the 17 games.

As we entered the 1970’s we saw a marked increase in the take-up of rugby and both sides were able to field three senior sides and a Colts team every Saturday.

The arrival of Frank Webb in Okehampton in the late 1950s saw a renewed enthusiasm amongst the membership at Okehampton.

Frank was a former Captain of Oxfordshire who had moved into the area and became an influential playing member of the Club, he was also one of the driving forces that pushed for the Club to purchase ground and finally settle down.

He went on to serve on the Devon County Committee and was the County President. Frank actually found time to play one game for Crediton in the 1963-64 season!

In the 1970-71 season, Frank donated a Cup to be played for between Okehampton and Crediton.

The winner would be decided by the highest aggregate score between the two sides over the two games played each season.

For the first 11 seasons up until 1980-81, Crediton was the only name on the trophy but there followed a period of dominance for Okehampton.

So dominant in fact, we only won the Cup once in the following 16 years.

The two clubs managed to keep the Cup competition going during the 1990’s but, as the league rugby progressed, we have found it difficult to maintain the competition every year as we found ourselves in different leagues.

The last time the Frank Webb Cup was competed for was in 2015-16, Okehampton being the aggregate winners and therefore current holders.

So far as statistics are concerned, Okehampton have won the Frank Webb Cup on 19 occasions against our 17. The highest margin of victory was in 1978-79 when our aggregate win was 60-0. The narrowest aggregate win was by a single point, Crediton winning 16-15 in 1980-81 and Okehampton winning 27-26 two years later.

In total, from results that have been traced, we have won 80 of the 147 games between the First XV’s and Okehampton have won 58 with nine games drawn. Our biggest winning margin was 47-0 on November 24, 1923 and our heaviest defeat was 0-56 on September 20, 1957.

The good thing about the friendly rivalry between the two Clubs has been that it runs through all the different levels, not simply the First XV’s.

Players from both Clubs, at whatever level, always look forward to the contest, which so often has that extra little competitive edge and which invariably leads to an entertaining encounter.

Overall, we have generally had the better of things with the possible exception of the Third XV battles, although it is fair to say, the bulk of our successes came before the 1990’s and certainly Okes dominance has been in the more recent years as they have crept up the league structure and currently play a level above ourselves.

The Second XV’s meet regularly in the Devon Merit Table One and both have been successful in that competition over the years and, as with the First XV we have won more games than we have lost, 53 as against 42 defeats with five drawn.

The Third XV has had noticeably fewer encounters, mainly because in recent years Okehampton have struggled to put out three teams on a regular basis and in these games we have won 24 and lost 31 with two games drawn.

Colts’ fixtures first began in 1958 and over the years there have been times when both Clubs have struggled to field Colts XVs but with the introduction of youth and junior rugby in the 1980’s, we have enjoyed a constant flow of players into the Colts and from there onto senior rugby. Again we have held the upper-hand in terms of results, winning 53 games against 34 losses and one draw.

Whilst league rugby has in some ways improved the game, certainly as far as player safety is concerned, it has meant that, unless our nearest opponents are in the same league, we seldom get to enjoy the local derby atmosphere.

The pressures of league rugby at every level, be it the Premiership or seven levels below the Premiership, are all much the same.

The battles for promotion or to avoid relegation generally means that when a Club First XV has a non-league Saturday, players are rested and as a consequence “friendlies” are seldom played and the opportunities to fit in local derby friendlies are missed.

In addition, the advent of league rugby has more or less killed off the Easter tours because Easter Saturday is often used as a league Saturday to fit in games that might have been postponed earlier in the season. Clubs are reluctant to put deposits down on hotels in case they have to cancel at the last minute.

Paul Harris