CONTINUING the run down of the 500 Club, 11th in this illustrious list is Alan Lovell with 554 games under his belt, 302 in the First XV, 143 in the Quins, 47 with the Third XV and 62 as a Colt.

Alan started with the Colts in 1982-83 but once he made the transition to the senior sides, he soon became an established First team player.

He was a tough tackling centre and always enjoyed making his presence felt although his game was not all about defence, as he proved with a total of 96 tries for 435 points which on current scoring would be 480.

He sort of retired in 2011 but came back for a few games after a couple of years and has squeezed in the odd game here and there ever since.

Next on the list is Jeff Bowers with 538 appearances in total and he won’t mind me saying so but Jeff has been around the Club far longer than he probably cares to remember.

His playing days as a prop began in 1969-70 season, always reliable and seemed to take everything in his stride, a calming influence, never one to panic but always able to give his opposite number a hard time.

Jeff was one of those unfortunate players whose playing career spanned a period when competition for places in the front row was probably as fierce as it has ever been and his opportunities in the First XV were restricted. There is no doubt had he played at another Club, he would have seen much more First team rugby.

However, Jeff did have a couple of seasons with North Tawton but returned "home" and now takes on the administration responsibilities for the First team, a true Club man.

Paul Coupe with 535 games is in 13th place, a very tidy scrum half who began in the Colts in 1976-77 and captained them in 1979-80 by which time he already played a dozen or so First team games.

In total, Coupey played 63 games in the First XV, 222 in the Quins and 201 in the Thirds in addition to his 49 Colts games.

His points total stands at 493 from 35 tries, 68 conversions, 60 penalties and one drop goal, on modern scoring that would equate to 521 points. Paul is another outstanding Club man, after finally hanging up his boots in 2004, he served on the Committee as Vice Chairman and can often be seen at the Club looking after the grounds along with co groundsman Clive Tonkin and it has to be said, they prepare one of the best pitches in the county.

In 14th place is Trevor Burridge on 530 games, his 358 First XV games were played mainly as a fullback and during his consistent performances over the years, you would be hard pushed to find a better number 15 in Devon.

The modern kick ball game had barely been thought of during his time and he would prefer to run from deep at every opportunity.

Trevor came from a Crediton rugby background - both his uncle Colin, and father Owen turned out for the Club in days gone by.

Trevor began his playing days in 1969 and his first retirement came after the 1981-82 season but returned for the 1985-86 campaign.

That was immediately followed by another retirement and, although his First XV games were over he did return in 1996 for some lower XV rugby.

He managed 55 games for the Second XV and 110 in the Third XV and seven in the Colts. A more than competent kicker, Trevor amassed 1,040 points from 124 tries, 91 conversions, 113 penalties and seven drop goals, that would work out at 1,162 points on current scoring.

To round off today’s section, 15th place is Mike Leyman with 522 games of which 336 were played in the First XV.

"Micko" began his career in the Colts in 1975-76 and again worked his way up to the First XV in 1978-79.

He was Club Captain for three seasons in 1984-85, 1985-86 and 1988-89. An outstanding back row forward who never seemed flustered and certainly knew where the try line was.

By the time he retired in 1997, Micko also played 107 games in the Seconds, 33 in the Thirds and 46 in the Colts.

He had scored 153 tries and he was no mug when it came to place kicking as he landed 46 conversions, 49 penalties, and three drop goals for a total of 870 points which on current scoring would work out at 1,013.

One hundred years ago the country was still recovering from the Great War and the sporting scene was doing its bit to bring some sense of normality to the Country and rugby was no exception.

This was the year when the Car Tax Disc was introduced, unemployment reached in excess of one million, Australia completed a whitewash over England in the Ashes series in Australia.

There was a 100 day drought which finally ended in June and the first performance of a woman being sawn in half on stage was successfully completed, a brand new Wolseley car would have set you back around £800 and Tottenham Hotspur defeated Wolves 1-0 in the F.A. Cup Final.

So far as Crediton rugby was concerned, the Club was enjoying a reasonably successful second full post war season and by mid-March had reached the semi-final of the Devon Junior Cup where we met Exmouth Reserves.

The previous season had thrown the two sides together at the same stage of the competition, the Cockles winning that one 8-0.

On this occasion, Crediton were very much the underdogs and both Clubs sent large numbers of supporters to the County Ground in Exeter to witness the game.

At full time, the teams could not be separated both having scored a try. F. Burrows gave Crediton the lead but Exmouth levelled late in the game to take it into extra time.

The game had produced many exciting moments as play went from end-to-end and continued in much the same way during extra time.

Crediton came very close to scoring on two occasions during the first 10-minute period and, just when it seemed the game would have to be replayed, Exmouth secured victory with a try from a lineout, the conversion gave victory to Exmouth by 8-3. The Crediton team on that day was; F. Steer, R. Bicknell, G. March, F. Burrows, G. Buscombe, A.B. Gay, F. Parr, W.C. Boddy, W. Snell, C. Edwards, B. Grant, W.S. Boddy, G. Tuckett, W. Steer and L. Turner.

Ten years ago this week, the First XV were sat in mid-table in the Cornwall and Devon League, the Seconds were in the bottom four of the Devon Merit Table One and the Colts were in line for a place in the Colts Shield Final.

Third place Hayle were the visitors on March 26, 2011 and they did have a chance, albeit a remote one, of overhauling St. Austell to gain one of the promotion spots.

Hayle soon showed why they were in third place as they dominated the first half to lead 14-3 at the interval, for our part it had been a disappointing display and certainly gave no indication as to how the second half would pan out.

Within 10 minutes of the restart, we were ahead 15-14 courtesy of tries from both wingers, Matt Shapland and Jake Wheedon, both initiated by scrum half Rob Milton.

Tom Ronchetti converted one to add to his first half penalty.

Hayle responded and quickly regained the lead with a try but from then on it was all Crediton as we racked up the points with tries from Shapland with another two, Mark Nott and two from replacement Gav Best, Ronchetti converted four to complete a remarkable turnaround in the second half and a 48-19 victory.

The Crediton team on that day was: 15; Neil Branton; 14; Matt Shapland - 13; Matt Walton - 12; Mike Pearce - 11; Jake Wheedon; 10; Tom Ronchetti - 9; Rob Milton; 1; Dan Manns - 2; B. Mogford - 3; Wayne Reed - 4; Eddie Yeandle - 5; Jay Harris (Capt) - 6; Sam Rowe - 7; John Milton - 8; Mark Nott - Replacements; Conrad Roberts, Marcus Roberts and Gavin Best.

Paul Harris