Barnstaple 18 - 10 Exmouth

Barnstaple do not lose many games at home but having had a recent purple patch the Cockles travelled to North Devon with a degree of confidence. Within ten minutes or so however it became clear that the intensity of the Barnstaple game was such that Pottington Road is still a difficult place to win a game of rugby. From the kick off things did not go well with Exmouth knocking the ball forward on their own 22. Exmouth went offside at the scrum and with two minutes played Giddy slotted the first penalty.

Barum were not without their own sinners and although Richard Cadywould missed an opportunity a minute later he redeemed himself within a minute with a penalty between halfway and the 22. Barnstaple quickly got into gear playing at pace and only a sterling defensive effort, led by Ben Boswell, kept the home side at bay. Barnstaple star Paul ‘Snowy’ Scheres, appearing at Pottington Road for the last time before returning to New Zealand, was bundled out to touch close to the Cockles line and although Exmouth got the ball back at the lineout referee Alan Friend judged the player to be holding on to the ball. With seventeen minutes played Giddy kicked the penalty and Barnstaple took the lead again.

Exmouth came back into the game and had a spell in the Barnstaple half and blew a chance to score when they knocked on close to the line. From the scrum Giddy lofted a speculative kick into space behind the Exmouth backs and running from his full back position Paul Scheres caught the ball and combined with his centre and winger to run the length of the pitch to score. Giddy missed the conversion but with the score at 11pts-3 Exmouth were beginning to feel the pressure.

With five minutes to the break a nasty bit of footwork justified referee Friend sending Barum prop Mark Berry from the field and Exmouth had the prospect of playing a fourteen man side for a further forty five minutes. Sensing they now had the advantage, quite the opposite happened with just minutes to the break, when they took the wrong option at a scrum and winger Luke Berry muscled the ball from the maul and sprinted to the line to score. Neil Giddy converted and the half ended with Barnstaple in control at 18pts-3.

Exmouth came back for the second half with the prospect of taking advantage of their superior numbers but although they put together a number of attacking moves nothing seemed to go right. They gifted a number of penalties to Barnstaple which they failed to convert and when Gary Hooper was harshly sin binned after fifteen minutes it was clearly not Exmouth’s day.

The rest of the game was pretty lack lustre but putting aside the missed Barnstaple penalties Exmouth had enough opportunities in the last fifteen minutes to have pinched the game from a superior Barnstaple side. A quick penalty taken by Exmouth was fumbled on the line; Jack Downie scored one of his signature tries when he shrugged off three defenders to score a converted try and right at the death the same player again blasted through the Barum defence only to lose the ball on the line.

Overall Barnstaple always looked likely winners and on some days Exmouth will win with this under par performance-but not at Pottington Road.