Penalty try hands Barum dramatic victory

Barnstaple secured a dramatic late victory over Exmouth in a thrilling advert for rugby in the South-West.

Within five minutes, Barum had scored through Brandon Moore, extras from Tyler Gordon-Oke. Exmouth were reduced to fourteen men for ten minutes. A theme for both teams throughout the game with another two players from each side taking a break.  

Exmouth closed the game with a penalty and then took the lead early in the second half. On 55 minutes, Nat Bayet scored for the hosts with Gordon-Oke adding the conversion.  

A Nick Headley try made it 14-17 to the visitors but Barum snatched victory with a penalty try with just 60 seconds left on the clock.

Bideford were another local side involved in a dramatic encounter, leading Paignton 22-17 until the last three minutes but a late score saw the visitors pinch victory.

Paignton took an early lead but were pegged back by a Ben Short try on 20 minutes. A penalty and second try restored the Paignton advantage but, once again, Bideford had an answer, Brodi Wilson and Nick Bone touching down with Nick Dawkins slotting the conversion to make it 17-17 at the break.

In a tight second period, another score from Bone looked to have given Bideford the victory but one last play turned the game in Paignton’s favour.

“This game is hard to take,” said manager Bradley Goaman. “In any game like this, sometimes you have to give Paighton credit, they found a way to win. There was a lot of raw emotion after the game, so close to get the result we wanted, but sport is cruel sometimes.

“I’m disappointed but immensely proud of these guys and we will build going forward. We showed a lot of heart in this game and did manage to get two points. Nick Bone and Alessandro Aliberti caught the eye.”

Torrington RFC enjoyed one of their best days on a rugby field for a long time, as they scored seven tries to defeat league leaders Topsham 2nds 45-38 in a brilliant match.

The scoring was not quite as intense for South Molton at Withycombe but their defensive display was outstanding to record a 12-0 victory at a difficult venue to earn a win.