THERE has been a little bit of good news on the current rugby front as we have moved from Stage C in the Return To Playing and are now at Stage D.

In effect that means we can do some contact training with certain restrictions.

Whilst actually playing competitively is still some way off, it is a step in the right direction and with only Stages E and F to go, perhaps we can have some more good news in a couple of weeks.

All sports, whether they be team sports or one against one, be they amateur or professional will always be competitive. After all that is the whole point of participation, someone has to win and someone has to lose, well not always because draws are of course a possibility.

However, the point is both sides will be doing their utmost to be victorious.

Over the years there has been a drive to make sports non-competitive, a notion that fortunately seems to have subsided. The idea that a sport cannot be competitive is something of a paradox for if that were the case then of course there would be no point in keeping a score.

In the case of rugby at Crediton, there is no more competitive a fixture than one against our good friends and near neighbours Tiverton. Before league rugby came into being, we would play Tiverton each season at home and away and often across four teams, First, Second, Thirds and Colts.

However, since the introduction of the league structure, the meetings at First XV level have not been as frequent as we have often been at different levels in the league structure. Tiverton are well-known as one of the oldest Clubs in Devon, however their claim of being founded in 1868 is perhaps not completely accurate although that is not to say there was no rugby in Tiverton at the time because there undoubtedly was courtesy of Blundell’s School.

The first fixture between Tiverton and Crediton took place on March 8, 1882 when we were soundly beaten by a powerful Tiverton side that contained a number of County players and some who would eventually play for England and of course most of the side had been recruited from Blundell’s School.

Tiverton were indeed the most powerful side in the County through the 1880’s and were winners of the inaugural Devon Senior Cup Competition.

For much of that period, Tivvy were too strong a fixture for us and we were relegated to the occasional game against their Second XV. It took until January 12, 1889 for the clubs to meet on equal terms and we gained our first victory by four tries and one conversion to one try (six points to one), the away fixture was lost by two points to nil.

The pattern of winning at home and losing away continued for some years but the important factor was that we were at the time considered their equals. Both Clubs suffered many highs and lows in fixtures against one another and in particular, the longest period without a victory fell to Tiverton when, having won 3-0 on December 27, 1955, they did not record another victory until April 30, 1969. In eight of those seasons we achieved the “double” and Tivvy managed only four draws.

In recent seasons, we have generally held the upper hand but of course for the moment, they are playing one league below us and the chances of meeting for this season and possibly next look remote.

In total, the First XV’s have met on 220 occasions, we have won 97, drawn 22 and lost 101. Our biggest winning margin was 43-0 on April 6, 2013 and heaviest defeat 5-40 on December 28, 1996.

The Second XV record against Tiverton is equally as close with 78 wins, 12 draws and 86 losses, the biggest win came on September 1, 2001 58-10 and the heaviest defeat 11-70 was on November 9, 1996.

The Third XV also have a close record against Tiverton Thirds with 37 wins, two draws and 43 defeats, the heaviest being 5-62 on January 14, 2012. The biggest win was 62-8 on November 7, 1992.

The Colts have a winning advantage over Tiverton 43 against 34 with three drawn games, the 56-0 victory on September 1, 2001 was the highest recorded and the heaviest defeat 0-66 came on October 18, 1997.

It was once reported that, in a speech at a Tiverton Annual General Meeting some years ago and after a poor season, the Club President made the point that if the first XV only managed two wins during the season and they were both against Crediton then it would be regarded as a successful season!

Another local fixture that always has that competitive edge is the one with North Tawton, a Club with a tremendous history and one which, and I hope they won’t mind me saying, always punch above their weight, metaphorically speaking.

Whilst at the moment, North Tawton play our Second XV, that has not always been the case and turning the clock back 80 to 100 years ago, they regularly came out on top in games between the First XV’s. In the years leading up to World War Two, the Devon Junior Cup was played out on a regional league basis with both Crediton and North Tawton competing in the Exeter Division.

More often than not, Tawts came out on top and made it through to the final. In those years prior to World War Two and just after, Tawts appeared in eight Junior Cup Finals winning five, sharing two and losing one. During the same period, we had been in four finals, winning two and losing two.

The two clubs first met at First XV level on April 2, 1904, a game that we won 21-0 although the next few encounters were won by North Tawton and we had to wait another six years for our next victory.

With the odd exception, victories for either side were by very narrow margins and half of the drawn games produced no scores at all.

Since the late 1950’s the fixture became a part of our Second XV fixture list but nonetheless still very competitive but always in a tremendous spirit. In total, the First XV’s met on 69 occasions and we hold a slight advantage with 34 wins to 25 and 10 games drawn.

Finally, all Club members were saddened to learn of the passing of Maurice Wonnacott last week. Maurice was a larger than life character who was a staunch supporter and sponsor of Crediton Rugby Club over many years. He will be sadly missed by us all and our thoughts are with all the family at this sad time.