Rugby roundup: Bideford march on

BIDEFORD march on at the top of the Cornwall & Devon Division following a 30-7 win over Torrington in the derby clash at Donnacroft. The odds were always stacked against Torrington after they went 12-0 down in the first five minutes.

By the time Torrie were awarded a late penalty try, Bideford had completed their scoring for the afternoon.

Torrie stand-off Andy Manning must have been suffering d�j� vu after seeing two clearance kicks charged down and tries scored from both follow ups. Ben Westaway scored the first try, which Ollie Wickett converted, then James Giddy swooped for the second.

Wickett added a penalty, which was followed by a try on the run for in-form Sam Olde. Prop James O’Sullivan had a big role in the build up.

The game went quiet after the interval, with just a Wickett penalty to move the score along. Bideford bagged their fourth try and a bonus point through wing James Buckland.

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TORRINGTON 2nd XV defeated Bideford Nomads 25-9 in a Merit Table clash at King George’s field.

It was a clash of contrasting styles, with Bideford looking to go wide at every opportunity and Torrington aiming to establish forward dominance.

Bideford took the early lead with two penalties, but Torrie hit back with tries from Neil Mock and debutant Charlie Banfield. The rest of the first half was end-to-end.

With so many recent cancellations, both teams had loaded benches and with multiple half-time changes Torrie had fresh impetus. Torrie went on to score tries though Tom Gooch on debut and Chris Tee, which was his first for the team. Veteran scrum half Rob Bewes added a conversion and second half penalty.

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BARNSTAPLE will have to find another date for their game away to Oxford Harlequins after the game was called off due to a frozen pitch. “We got a call around 10am just as we were passing Taunton to say ‘come if you want’ but the pitch is unplayable,� said Barnstaple’s Martin Mogford. “Had we been closer we might have gone anyway, just in case we could get the game on. There didn’t seem much point when we had three hours to go.�

Barnstaple are at home to Redingensians this Saturday - weather permitting!

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BARNSTAPLE U15s lost 21-19 at Ivybridge in a spirited encounter.

Barum started played scintillating rugby for the first 20 minutes that produced tries from Dom Thorne, James Newman and Gareth Sloman. Thorne converted two for a 19-nil lead.

Ivybridge fought back to score a converted try of their own.

Barum had to defend and defend in the second half, particularly when Jake Meredith was sin binned. The Barum boys showed great spirit, letting in only two tries late on, which Ivybridge converted to give them the lead.

Thomas Hyam nearly scored right at the death, but a foot in touch gave Barum a very unlucky loss.

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BARNSTAPLE U14s beat Tiverton 46-10 in a scrappy game. Tiverton scored tries either side of the half, but Barum were generally in control. New players Brad Clark and James Ager tackled well and scored great tries. Other try scorers were Tom Karslake, Nat Bayet, Nick Harris and Barnie Meadowcroft, who also kicked three conversions.