Depleted Bideford went down to a 29-7 Western Counties defeat at Penryn in a scrappy game. With so many players unable to travel, Bideford had seven second team players starting at Penryn.
Alex Priest had to leave the field for 40 minutes with a nasty cut from a punch five minutes into the game, which did not help Bideford’s cause. When Priest came back in the second half he got a try back for Bideford that Reece Pearn converted.
Bideford manager Bradley Goaman said: “It was always going to be a tough day with so many players missing, and it’s becoming very frustrating when it happens, but full credit to the players who were called up and put in a great shift.
“We could have scored a couple more tries in the second half, but could not break their defence. Reece Pearn had a busy afternoon of tackling at full-back and Rob Elliot played well again.
“We will move on quickly, reset, and prepare for our home game against high-flying Teignmouth in a couple of weeks.”