THE outlook for some live rugby is looking pretty bleak at the moment and a normal scheduled start looks highly unlikely. However, plans have to be put in place and we, or rather the RFU, should be making provision for a normal start to the season.

After all it is better to have something in place and then possibly delay or postpone the option but at least have a simple back-up Plan B.

The decision to call a halt to the 2019-21 season was made more than two months ago, promotion and relegation issues were resolved at the time and all that remained were one or two geographical issues, which meant a couple of Clubs having to level transfer, i.e. because of their geographical situation it would suit them to be in Western Counties North rather than West.

These issues are normally dealt with after the play off’s at the end of April and our league fixtures produced by the end of May.

PLAN B

It is difficult to understand why there is such a delay, we could and should have had the initial fixtures a month ago with a Plan B option depending on the timing of the start of the season.

For example, if the start is delayed until January then we will have lost half of the season and there is no reason why the league standings could not be based on the second half results.

It would mean each team only plays each other once and some teams will have had seven home games and others only six but that is how the format worked when the leagues first started.

The only difference would be to dispense with promotion and relegation for the one season. Sadly the wheels will only turn slowly!

WALKING

Having got that off my chest, if there is one thing that the lockdown has achieved then it is that more people are out walking and more often. Today the theme will also be walking as we take another gentle stroll down Memory Lane with some reminiscences from a couple of former Club Captains.

Ken Clover captained the Club in the 1969-70 season although his debut came some nine years earlier.

Ken recalled still being at school, Hayward’s Knowledge College as it was affectionately known and under the tutelage of Jack Hayes for both Geography and PE.

Those of us who remember Jack and, of course, there will be many, will know that he was not the biggest of men, in fact he would need to be fully attired with a wet army coat in order for the scales to register.

However, he was something of a disciplinarian in that his manner commanded attention.

Ken was called to the school corridor as Mr Hayes wanted to see him, well Ken was barely 15 years-old and that feeling of trepidation swept through his body as he broke into that cold sweat that we all know fear can bring on!

Of course Ken had no need to be worried as Jack had simply asked if he could go and get his rugby kit as the First XV would like him to go and play at Cullompton that evening as they were short, nothing to worry about after all!

Ken made the trip and played the entire game just a few days short of his 15th birthday, that simply could not happen today. Crediton won the game comfortably 33-0, and Ken never looked back.

That was April 1961 and he went on to play 173 First team games and 300 appearances for the Club altogether.

Ken is still a keen supporter of the Club and still enjoys the odd away trip with the First XV.

525 GAMES

Mike John is one of that rare breed of players that has managed more than 500 First XV games, 525 to be precise and, of course, picking one from that number is not an easy task but in the end, he settled for one of the many battles with Exeter in the 1970’s.

Normally, we would not be playing Exeter First XV on a regular basis but this was the Devon Cup Semi Final on February 29, 1976.

We had already beaten Marjon College 44-4, Plymouth Argaum 12-0 and Exeter University 24-3 to make it through to the semi-final. Exeter meanwhile were seeded to the third round where they won 24-4 at Sidmouth and 40-0 at home against Barnstaple in the quarter final.

The game created huge interest throughout the County and, of course, it was only a formality, Exeter simply just had to turn up and they would be in the final.

QUALITY

However, despite a lengthy injury list, this was still a Crediton side full of quality and whilst Exeter had come with a powerful line up, they would certainly know they had been in a game.

By half-time, we were 0-14 down and even worse, we were forced to play a man short after lock Jon Wood went off with a broken rib, no replacements in those days.

The problems mounted when three more players needed treatment for injuries but nonetheless Kirton pounded the Exeter defence into submission and pulled back to within two points with a Mike Leach try converted by Trevor Burridge who also added a penalty with Ian Radnor also landing a penalty.

The Crediton side had played magnificently but hearts were finally broken when Exeter centre Ian Lewis dropped a goal for a 17-12 win.

The Exeter players and officials were full of praise for the Kirton performance and remarked that we had posed as many problems for them as Gloucester and Saracens whom they had played recently. Indeed the general feeling was that Crediton would compete very well at a higher level.

The Crediton team that day was: Trevor Burridge; Bob Eames, John Daw, John Stapleton, Ron Martin; Ian Radnor, John Saunders; Miles Haggar, Mike John, Nick Atkinson, Geoff Warne, Jonathan Wood, Roger Holloway, Mike Leach and Fran Thorne.

As for Exeter, well they went on to win the Devon Cup, beating Torquay 18-12 in the final at Torquay. The other remarkable feature of the season was that the First XV won 37 of their 44 games scoring more than 1,000 points whilst the Second XV won 33 out of 39 games and also notched up over 1,000 points.

Paul Harris