Good evening, everyone and welcome to another frenetic weekend of rugby, as if last weekend wasn’t enough for you, got your breath back yet. Today centre stage belongs to Athletic as they welcome Old Plymothian & Mannamedian (OPM) to Pottington Road. The Colts too are at home and welcome Crediton Colts, both games kick off at 2pm.

The Chiefs following on from their narrow win against Exmouth, have the weekend off whilst others catch up on previously postponed games, as do the Buccaneers, both play next weekend with the Chiefs off to Ivybridge whilst the Bucc’s are at home against Exmouth Nomads.

Morgan Gabe

Before we get into the team news, we have some fantastic news as one of our lads is of to study in the southern hemisphere. Morgan Gabe who travels to South Africa on a great rugby journey at the end of the month as he joins the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport just outside of Cape Town. The programme covers all aspects of rugby performance from mental skills development, nutrition, strength and conditioning, and individual player performance plans, as-well as providing game time against quality opposition.

Morgan Gabe came through our Junior section starting at under 7s,  progressing to our senior squad with appearances for both Chiefs and Athletic this season. A great player and personality to have around the squad.

Barnstaple Rugby Football Club wish him all the best and can’t wait to see him on his return.

Feel the Barum Spirit Morgan.

Volunteer Appeal

Join the Mighty Barum as a volunteer! Barnstaple Rugby Football Club is looking for enthusiastic and committed volunteers to fill the following roles:

Membership Secretary

Safeguarding Officer

Groundsmen

As a volunteer, you will enjoy the benefits of being a member of our club, such as free entry to all Barnstaple Chiefs league fixtures, eligibility to apply for international tickets, and a 25% discount for club hire. You will also be a part of the famous “Barum Spirit” and make new friends along the way. Don’t miss this chance to be a part of something special!

If you are interested in any of these roles, please contact us at info.barnstaplerugby@gmail.com

Barnstaple U16’s

Barnstaple’s U16 continue to impress in the 2nd round of the Fisherman’s cup with thier first win beating Topsham 15-7 at home last Sunday.

Their next game is at Crediton this Sunday

Good luck on Sunday from everyone at Barnstaple Rugby Club and have a great game

BARNSTAPLE CHIEFS

Well, that was hard work wasn’t it last weekend as the Chiefs won with just minutes left on the clock and yet it started so well. Right from the start Barnstaple showed up for this one running the ball well and causing Exmouth to concede the penalties from which Brandon Moore scored after just 4 minutes from the resulting maul converted by Tyler. A great start and high expectations from the 500+ crowd the more was to come and at least for those first 10 minutes it looked very much like we were going to boss the day. Unfortunately a Barnstaple yellow in the 11th minute gave Exmouth the impetus to get back into the game especially once they were back to 15 men themselves and it was a much more evenly fought game as both sides pushed hard. For the Chiefs a number of handling errors and again penalties stifled their response somewhat and whilst there was some good rugby on show the team could not really get any traction to sustain pressure on Exmouth’s defence. Exmouth for their part pushed the Chiefs defence hard plenty of times, earning a couple of penalties of which one was converted. The half ended with another Chiefs yellow and a narrow lead 7-3.

Second half and Exmouth took the initiative scoring first to take the lead 7-10. And so, it stayed until the final 25 minutes when Barnstaple started to get their game into some sort of flow and Exmouth now committing the penalties. Following several successive phases, a hole opened up for Nat Bayet who received the ball as he straightened his run to burst through the hole breaking one tackle and diving for the lead, which after Tyler’s conversion push the Chiefs ahead 14-10. Now with all to play for and with Barnstaple pushing to ensure the win it was Exmouth who retaliatedwith a converted try to lead 14-17 with just 8 minutes left on the clock.

And it is here that the Chiefs demand the most respect on the day as they not only piled on the pressure but showed some great discipline causing Exmouth to continually concede penalties. It is always easy to throw caution to the wind and throw the ball about hoping to open up the defence, but the Chiefs trusted their fitness and pressed the Exmouth defence into penalties as they probed for gaps. Finally, as the Chiefs drove the maul from one such penalty, Exmouth had no option but to pull down the maul, giving the Chiefs the winning penalty try.

A close 21-17 win then for the Chiefs and although I still think they commit too many penalties letting oppositions off the hook, that final 20 minutes showed what they can achieve when the discipline is there. Exmouth were good opposition who almost got the rewards they were after but it was discipline and the Chiefs belief in their fitness and skills which finally showed up, keeping their nerve right to the end.

So, an important result for Barnstaple but even better was to come as Brixham got the win over Devonport. Chew Valley got all 5 points at WSM but even so there is just 3 points separate the three teams. both Chew Valley and Devonport play their game in hand over the Chiefs this weekend, we will then see the task facing the Chiefs for the title.

Next weekend the Chiefs travel to Ivybridge and really must secure all five points there.

BARNSTAPLE ATHLETIC AND COLTS

Athletic

A trip to league leaders provided Athletic with a huge opportunity for the second half of the season as they were to face Devonport Services II, and a win would have massive rewards for the Tic’s.

The first half was the tight game everyone predicted with both sides’ defences winning the argument. A Ben Jago try opened the scoring. This was countered by two penalties for the home side to take the lead before right-on half-time Tom Swales scored to end the half 6-10 in front.

Now I have been critical of the Tic’s early in the season of their lack lustre second half displays, well this must have been the most positive and aggressive half this team has produced as they ran in 4 more tries and reduced the opposition to just three more points to win 9-34. Totally dominate throughout the half they had Devonport on the back foot from the word go. With just 4 minutes gone Mitch Turner landed the first from a maul, Tom Swales then landed his second and the Tic’s fourth as he ran down the blindside from the scrum to score. Another try this time Louis Beer going under the posts, giving Cameron his first conversion of the day. Finally Harvey Rostock flew down the right wing to dive in to score, again converted by Cameron, to give Athletic a commanding 9-34 win and propelled them to top of the league.

It cannot be understated how important a game this was, not only did Athletic dominate the second half to take all the honours and showed they are truly an 80 minute team, but this should give them the belief and confidence to do exactly the same when they visit Torquay on February 3rd.

They do have to do the business today however as they welcome OPM to Pottington Road for a 2pm kick off. OPM have had 5 wins to their name so far this season with the double over Exmouth II and a 18-16 home win over Honiton. This will be the first time these two have meet and so each will be new to the other. Worryingly for OPM is last weekend’s mauling by Torquay who won 99-0. However, the Tic’s must not be complacent as we will need all five points from this match and any relaxing could end up being a banana skin for Athletic.

The side is very much as it was last weekend with Gaving Mitchell returning to the front row and Louis Beer moving to no.8 replacing the absent Joe Messenger. Connor Swan is also recalled at 11.

Colts

THe Colts have a great chance to get their first win of 2024 having just missed out losing by 4 points at Topsham 25-21. This Saturday they welcome Crediton to Pottington Road.

Here then is Athletic and Colts teams for Saturday.

Well that’s it for another weekend, next Saturday the Chiefs are off to Ivybridge whilst Athletic and Buccaneers are both at home to face their Exmouth counterparts. The Colts are also in action as they travel to Sidmouth.

Good luck both our teams playing this weekend and I will catch up with you all next weekend. Also don’t forget to grab your tickets for the Sportsman’s Dinner.