Exmouth 67 - 17 Barnstaple

Exmouth’s second XV The Quins got their season off to a flying start against last seasons divisional champions Barnstaple with a trilling display of running rugby.

 
A youthful squad with 11 players 21 or under took on a bulky, older north Devon outfit, but it soon became clear the young Cockles had little concern for their lack of  playing years.

 
Richard Caddywould had an almost perfect day with the boot kicking two early penalties and 8 out of 9 conversions yet it was the overall high standard of play throughout the 18 players used that must have been most pleasing to the cockles supporters and new team coach Graham Price.

 
Brad Perkins scored a try early on either side of two Caddywould penalties and this was followed shortly after by a try for Hooker Ed Khodabandehloo after good work from wing Sam Reid.

 
Leading 20 nil in as many minutes the Cockles eased off for the second quarter and a determined Barnstaple took the opportunity to take their own tally to ten, going into the half time break.

 
Any thought of a fight back  by the visitors in the second half was quickly extinguished with a sucession of well worked Cockles tries.
First up was Perkins ,a  textbook scrum saw  fullback Caddywould cut through the midfield and give his wing the easiest of run ins.
Next up Bradley Stone did the hard work before the forwards lead by skipper Tony Emmins surged over the visitors line, on hand was evergreen scrum half Neil Hooper to touch down.

 
Stone got his name on the score sheet soon after, a flowing cross field move with fly half Shaun Fayter and open side Lee Loveridge on hand to send the centre away.

 
Not to be outdone fellow centre Seb Phelps scored next following up a kick he charged down on halfway. Two more tries in 3 minutes followed both by Caddywould as the home side ran riot .

 
Plucky as the visitors were themselves scoring a converted try the overall dominance of the home side was clear to see .
With a couple of chances going astray in the last minutes of the game the scoring was completed by Phelps with yet another charge down try, the conversion missed the Cockles ran out winners by 50 points, a result which is sure to raise a few eyebrows in this division.