Barnstaple 26 - Crediton 21

A SUNNY day with great conditions in North Devon set the stage for a top-of-the-table clash for the thirds against second-place Barnstaple thirds.

It is often said that all good things must come to an end and it did at the weekend as Barnstaple put a stop to our 13-match winning streak!

It was mostly Barnstaple with ball in hand in the first half securing a 12-0 lead at half time.

After the break, it was still Barum putting on the pressure and racking up the points with some great phases sucking in our defence to score out wide.

Around the 60-minute mark the dominant Kirton pack gained just reward for their efforts, a penalty try sparking something of a comeback.

We began to look dangerous in attack, posing questions and testing the Barum defence with everyone taking their part in hard running and great support play.

Barum were not finding it quite so easy at the breakdown and it was centre Euan Phillip who crashed over next under the posts with Owen Cooper quickly slotting the conversion as time was not on our side.

After another strong attack through a number of phases, we were back in the Barum 22 and with their defence sucked in Bradley Bolt squeezed in to score in the corner, a tricky conversion for Cooper but he stepped up and slotted it perfectly.

Shortly after, it was game over and the lads kept their heads held high as they shook hands with their opponents.

Many thanks go to Barnstaple for a fantastic game of genuine third-team rugby.

The Crediton thirds need seven more points from their remaining four games to qualify for the semi-final of the David Butt Memorial Trophy.

John Gurzynski