Bideford Chiefs triumph in a rugby dogfight at Tavistock

Bideford Rugby Club’s fine away form continued with a hard fought single-point win at Tavistock in a low-scoring game.

With the pitch in great condition, the first half was a scrappy affair with a lot of defensive work on both sides. Tavistock took the lead on 25 minutes with a penalty but just before the break, Bideford moved the ball wide and Kai Pett scored in the corner to lead 5 - 3.

In the second half, the visitors had the slope but Tavistock were a tough nut to crack. Ollie Waters kicked two penalties to extend the lead to 11 - 5. In the last play of the game, Tavistock scored from a rolling maul and kicked the conversion, but the Chiefs held on for an 11 – 10 victory.

“It was not pretty, a real dogfight,” said Bideford boss Bradley Goaman. “It’s difficult to play here and Tavistock handled the slope better than us, but we showed good composure to come away with the win.

“The lads managed to find a way to get the scores at important times in the game. We had lots of opportunities, but we did not quite take them. Stand-in captain Fraser Priest was outstanding again.

“We have Exeter Saracens this weekend at home, which is a difficult task, but if we bring our A game, I’m confident we can get the result we need before the Christmas break.”

In a pulsating North Devon derby, Bideford Quins went down to a 43 – 37 defeat at Torrington. Ben Sawyer scored two tries for the home side, along with scores from Will Brown, Nick Evans, Dan MacDonald-Bale and Keelan Neilson.

It was a frustrating weekend for Barnstaple RFC, as the Chiefs went down to a 38 – 17 loss at Syston, the Athletic lost a tight game at Kingsbridge, 27 – 24, and it was the same scoreline for the Buccaneers, beaten at North Devon rivals Ilfracombe. Connor Irwin, Ellis Rees, Ben Eustace and Sam Taylor crossed for the Combe.