Barum back in the title driving seat

Barnstaple Rugby Club are now just two games away from the league title after a weekend that turned the Regional 1 Tribute SW season on its head.

Entering Saturday’s visit from Royal Wootton Bassett, Barum had the clear mission of maintaining their winning form and hoping that leaders Brixham would stumble in the pursuit of glory.

While Barum were dominating their game at Pottington Road, the Fishermen were locked in a titanic tussle at home to Sidmouth, which ended in a dramatic 31-26 victory for the visitors, opening the door for Barnstaple to take top spot.

Callum Morgan set the tone for Barum with a try converted by Tyler Gordon-Oke. RWB hit back with a penalty and then an unconverted try, but that was as good as it got for the visitors, as they were swept aside by some Barnstaple brilliance.

Jake Murphy, Ryan Smale and Callum Davies all crossed to give Barum a comfortable half-time lead of 26-8, and the dominance continued into the second half, James Fraser and Ryan Lee adding further tries for a pivotal win.

There is still work to be done for Barum in the league, starting with a tough trip to Launceston on March 22 and then the final-day visit from St Austell on April 5. The Chiefs also have a Devon Senior Cup Final to enjoy against Sidmouth on March 15.

A difficult season for Bideford RFC is almost complete, as they slipped to a 43-19 defeat at home to St Ives. The Chiefs, as always, demonstrated plenty of fighting spirit but St Ives just had too much for them on the day.

In the same division, Barnstaple Athletic still have an outside chance of catching leaders Pirates Amateurs, who are four points ahead with two games to go, and Paignton in second, who only hold a one-point lead over Barum. The Athletic edged a tight game at Bude 19-22 on Saturday.