Chris Snell marked his return to Bideford’s first team after an absence of three years with a try in the 36-15 win over Western Counties strugglers Honiton.
When Jordan Taylor pulled a hamstring in the warm-up, Snell moved from the bench to start at scrum-half and Bideford soon went into a 7-0 lead through his self-converted try.
Peter Bowes and Alex Priest also scored in the first half as Bideford built a 19-8 lead. Second-half tries from Jack Chapman (2), Priest and a Snell conversion saw Bideford romp home.
The scoreline may have been impressive, but team manager Bradley Goaman felt the performance left something to be desired.
“It was a bit of a mixed bag to be honest,” said Goaman. “Things went against at times, and when they did, the players showed a lot of character, but we complicated things for ourselves.
“In the second half, we were better with more energy and our forward power dominated. We scored some good tries and the squad are delighted with the five points to move up the league table.”
Snell took man of the match for Bideford in a contest with Priest, Mark Lee and Callum Davies.
“His was an outstanding performance at scrum half and we are delighted he’s back playing again,” said Goaman. “He is a class act at nine and controls the game well with all his experience.”