1st Team v Barnstaple RFC

Despite pushing the home side all the way, The Cockles left empty handed. League leaders Barnstaple were always going to be a tough outing on their own turf.

The hosts struck first through Haydn Lidstone, unconverted, to lead 5-0 after 8 minutes. They crossed the whitewash again 7 minutes later through Kyle Spear with extras added by Kyran McManus 12-0. Throughout the half it was clear the our pack had the upper hand in the scrum, although uncharacteristically our line-out was misfiring. Both defences, apart from us in the first 15 minutes, were resolute and The Cockles did have their chances. Both teams were down to 14 men when, first Alex Goldman had to sit out, followed by Matt Grohl for technical offences. The Cockles continued to batter the Barum line and eventually strong driving form the forwards pushed Steve Pape over for the try, conversion missed, 12-5 at the break.

6 minutes in to the second half, The Cockles had the chance to close the gap when Meads kicked for a penalty. The swirling wind dragged the ball wide, not a great day for kickers. Barum struck again on 55 minutes with Casey George going over, 17-5, conversion missed again. Despite the creeping scoreline The Cockles were still in the game and came close on a couple of occasions, one blistering break from Henry Goldson was brought down close to line. Although he acrobatically got the ball down, he was adjudged to have his foot in touch by the home linesman. A similar act of acrobatics saw Dave Bargent reach over out wide for his try, 17-10, Meadows missed the conversion from way out wide. Shane Cooper, Charlie Tribble, Nick Halse and James Harris battered the Barnstaple attack and The Cockles were chasing the game. Sam Whitehead from replacement full back looked to create something for the lads with real wheels, Lewis, Matty, Alex, Nick, to launch a final attack. With a couple of minutes on the clock it looked like Exmouth were heading for a, well deserved, losing bonus point. Unfortunately, a loose kick downfield was gathered and returned virtually unopposed by Josh Davis, 22-10. There was just time for a restart and The Cockles got to the try line, Steve Pape just being held up. Game over.

The Cockles showed real fight, quicker tempo and great phases throughout the game. A great middle section of the game, well played.
Skipper Jack Fahy will be keen to regroup his men for the challenge of bottom side Bracknell next weekend. The Cockles lost 12-0 on their visit to Lily Hill Park, in atrocious conditions, earlier this season. A chance to bounce back against a tough outfit.