Promotion chasing, 2nd placed Barnstaple arrived at our place in strong form, this would turn out to be a fine performance from the hosts, to a man.
Defensively this was probably the best Exmouth had delivered throughout this term. The Cockles worked tirelessly and enjoyed their rugby. It took 28 minutes of all-out attrition before either team got in to a position to break the deadlock. Barum centre Jake Murphy missed a penalty on 28 minutes. A further 7 minutes elapsed before a scrum close to hosts try line resulted in a slight wheel, pick from the base and Nat Bayet went over under the posts, converted by Jake Murphy. With half time closing fast Exmouth got their reward from forward dominance, working their way up field, eventually giving Sam Whitehead the chance to close the gap with a well taken penalty, 3-7. 40 minutes had passed with little score but a lot of rugby.

A very large crowd, bolstered by a fair number of travelling support from Barnstaple, hoped that the cagey affair would break open. The kick-off from Barnstaple caught Exmouth out, giving away an early penalty chance, Murphy missed again. Playing with the strong breeze, The Cockles lifted their game and did break loose. First try from Charlie Tribble on 46 minutes, converted by Sam Whitehead, 10-7. The Exmouth boys sensed they were gaining the upper-hand and 15 minutes later, a perfectly executed set move saw Dave Bargent cut the Barnstaple defence wide open, running in from 25 metres to dive in under the posts. Whitehead added the extras, 17-7. If that was a great score the next was a thing of beauty. On the attack, Full Back Sam Whitehead slipped a deft kick, between two Barum defenders, along the ground towards club house corner. Centre Nick Headley outpaced the back tracking defence to get round the outside to touch down in the corner, a top score. Sam missed the touch line conversion. 22-7. With 10 minutes left on the clock you could sense the unrest in the Barnstaple support as some started to troop out to catch the train home. Those that stayed saw Mitch Turner go over out wide, conversion missed; Barnstaple closed the gap 22-12. The final act of the afternoon saw Tom Whelan kick a penalty for Exmouth. Game Over: 25-12.

This was a Cockles squad performance that Coach Steve Perry was pleased to watch. Exmouth were dominant in a number of areas with the forward pack in charge. Skipper Jack Fahy would have been impressed by his lads across the park, Connor O’Shaughnessy, James Harris and Ben Hawley in the back row caused mischief all day. The home crowd was chuffed. James Harris collected the Man of the Match accolade from Match Day Sponsors the Master Mark Masons of Devonshire. Well Deserved.

It doesn’t stop, as next up, a trip to table topping Bournemouth. Another tough challenge, however The Cockles will be keen to continue where they left off.