Teams 
Bideford 58-12 Ivybridge
Bideford made the two-hour journey to Ivybridge for their latest league clash, with a few last-minute changes to the lineup. Mark Schofield was forced to withdraw, and Ethan Paddon stepped up to fill a slot in the backs.
Players and spectators alike had to contend with a howling wind, which made for challenging conditions. Bideford won the toss and wisely chose to play with both the wind and the slope in the first half, an advantage they were determined to make count. And they did just that, delivering a dominant opening quarter of rugby.
Mitch Harris opened the scoring in style, using dazzling footwork to twice cut inside and beat defenders, drawing gasps from the coaching staff. He went on to complete a superb hat-trick, all from open play and all showcasing his attacking flair. His outstanding performance earned him the Back of the Match award.
Bideford’s pack were relentless, particularly in the maul, where they overpowered the opposition and scored multiple tries. Evans-Pearce, Will Bliss, and skipper Nick Bone all crossed the line through powerful forward drives.
A standout in the forward pack was Dec Smale, whose bullocking runs made a massive impact throughout the game. His physicality and work rate consistently put Bideford on the front foot, and his dominant performance earned him the well-deserved title of Forward of the Match.
Evans-Pearce had an outstanding game in both tight and loose play, bagging a second try following a well-executed handling move.
Sam Olde added his name to the scoresheet with a trademark dummy-and-go, and also played a key role in setting up two of Mitch Harris’s tries. Charlie Stevenson was a constant threat in open space, gaining valuable ground throughout the game. Fred Fishleigh impressed at 13 with strong contributions in both attack and defence. George Terry also had a strong performance and added a try in the second half.
The half-back pairing of Billy Cockwill and Freddy Palmer controlled the game excellently. Billy kept the defence guessing with sharp, darting runs, while Freddy varied the attack intelligently with a mix of chips, passes, and runs. He also had a fine day with the boot, converting four trys a remarkable effort in such difficult kicking conditions.
Despite the final scoreline, it was an entertaining match, and credit must go to Ivybridge, who fought bravely to the final whistle.
Final Score: Ivybridge 12 – 58 Bideford
Bideford now turn their focus to next weekend’s home fixture against Topsham.
Bideford U16s Start Fisherman’s Cup with Dominant Win at Crediton
Bideford 43 – Crediton 12
Bideford U16s kicked off their Fisherman’s Cup campaign with an impressive performance away at Crediton. Following a flat outing against Okehampton the previous week, the squad responded well in training, and it showed.
However, true to recent form, Bideford were slow out of the blocks and needed a wake-up call. That came early, as Crediton executed a clever lineout move to score the opening try. It was exactly the spark Bideford needed.
From that moment on, Bideford clicked into gear and began to dominate all areas of the game. Tries quickly followed from Adam Norman, John Davenport, and Seb Cackett, all expertly converted by Finn Booth.
One of the standout moments came from a slick midfield combination between Booth and Cackett, resulting in Seb slicing through under the posts , a try that showcased the team’s attacking sharpness.
Cackett continued to cause problems for the defence, going on to complete a hat-trick with two more well-taken tries. Billy Howard also got in on the action, scoring his first try for Bideford, capping off a memorable day for the young winger.
The Bideford pack laid the platform with a dominant display up front, winning collisions and consistently providing quality ball. Henry Davis had a fine game in the lineout, securing possession cleanly and disrupting Crediton’s throw. The set piece was a real area of strength throughout the match.
Oli Cornish and Finn Booth controlled the tempo superbly at half-back, keeping the Crediton defence guessing with a smart mix of kicks and wide passes.
Alfie Fisher and Seb Cackett were outstanding both in attack and defence, constantly making ground and shutting down Crediton’s momentum. Jake Maund also impressed once again with another all-action performance around the park.
There were also encouraging signs from Henry Hamilton, who made a couple of strong runs and looked much more confident with ball in hand .
Final Score Summary
Tries: Seb Cackett (3), Adam Norman, John Davenport, Billy Howard
Conversions: Finn Booth (5)
Penalty: Finn Booth (1)
Forward of the match Henry Davis
Back of the match Seb Cackett
Bideford will be pleased with their response after a slow start and will look to carry this momentum into the next round of the Fisherman’s Cup.
Bideford Ladies 15-Tosham 10
It was a week of disturbed prep for Bideford ladies RFC! Despite failed efforts to get the game re-arranged, with a third of the team unavailable for reasons varying from an adventure race to competing in the British championship of paper folding those remaining traveled to face Topsham tempests away.
Playing into the strong wind saw Bideford defending for the first 20 minutes camped out in their own 22.
Some hard scrummaging by the pack and direct running saw us regain territory metre by metre until Hannah ‘ Davy McGravy Ravy’ Daniels powered over to make it 0-5.
Again the massively dominant pack won scrum after scrum with the front Row anchored by Props Daisy ‘I’m not in love with Ben‘ O’Donavan and Buddha ‘ I have 5365 caps’ Patterson, saw us work up the field for some slick handling in the backs culminating into a first try for Bideford in the left hand corner for sometimes winger sometimes flanker Sophie ‘likes a drink’ Folland
This saw the score going into half time at 0-10.
Expecting an easier ride having a strong following wind, Bideford took to the field and had anything but with Topsham throwing the ball wide in quick succession to come back with two quick scores making the score going into the last quarter 10-10.
Olivia ‘ waiting for a growth spurt’ Taylor used some technical know how to pin the opposition back in the Topsham 22 with a bit of deft kicking and the resulting pressure resulted in another pick and go power house try for Hannah!
The whole team then worked like trojans for the last 6 to hold out with the score 10-15!!
A fine win for Bideford ladies!
Special mentions go to Eva ‘ The doc’ Pascoe who had a great first game. Captain Hannah ‘ chopper’ Brighty for some stalwart defence Blue ‘laws, what laws’ Bradborn and Ruth ‘no mates’ Boundy for their strong carries in the midfield!
Players of the day went to Mia ‘ there were council house people there’ Wrey for the backs and Daisy ‘Ben is my sunshine’ Donnermeat.
The next fixture sees us home to Truro next week!
