Teams 
Bideford Chiefs were well below their best this weekend against Bude, and the travelling support deserve an apology for the performance they witnessed. It felt as though Bideford were outmuscled and outplayed by a determined Cornish side who showed greater hunger and intent from the outset.
Credit must go to Bude, who did an excellent job on a pitch that was in good condition, inevitably soft in patches, but well prepared. From the warm-up, Bideford didn’t look at the races, and that lack of intensity carried into an uninspiring first half.
That said, Bude clearly wanted it more in the first half and fully deserved their advantage at the break.
Bideford looked beaten, but some frank and honest words at half-time sparked an improved second-half display. However, the damage had been done. The National Cup campaign ends here, perhaps a welcome focus shift in some respects, but there must now be a strong response. Both players and coaches need to take accountability for a performance that fell well short of expectations.
Best of luck to Bude in the Quarter Finals and for the remainder of the competition.
Colts.
Wow!!!!
The boys put in an impressive shift in the plate QF. Bideford Colts 59- Exeter Sarries -0.
A superb and comprehensive display of attacking rugby on the main club pitch and in front of a decent crowd saw our Colts put in the performance of the season, so far!
This was an incredible team effort of flowing, expansive and support running coupled with a stubborn defensive effort showed how very capable this squad is.
The Colts found the space quickly and at times their passing and interplay was outstanding. Plenty of support on the shoulder which wave after wave drained the Sarries defence.
The centre partnership of Freddie and Ethan was not only prominent in its defence but was able to break the gain line frequently.
The spacial awareness and kicking from fly halves Billy Williams-Rice and then Finley Potter gave us a territorial advantage of which we often capitalised.
Dylan Rooks-Haste was singled out for work effort and full focus attitude from warm up to the final whistle.
Harrison Rhodes perhaps displayed with ease his capability as an open side flanker. With an engine Rolls Royce would be proud of, he tackled, Disrupted line out ball and still had the gas to run excellent support lines to dot down four tries.
Congratulations lads and we march on to the semi final away to our old adversaries,Sidmouth,in two weeks.
Try’s scored by Harri Rhodes (4!), Ethan Walker, Freddie Allebone-Parish, Billy Williams-Rice, Finley Potter, Charlie Ackland..
Cons, Finley Potter, Charlie Ackland & George Evans!
Half time 38-0
Full time 59-0
Outstanding performance all round! 👏
MoTM – Harri.🏅🏉🏉🏉🏉.
Sadly, winger Oscar Price suffered a significant concussion after a fantastic display and is ruled out for the next three weeks. We wish him the best for a speedy recovery.💪🏼
Bideford U16
U16s Secure Win but Standards Slip in 29–14 Victory,
Bideford U16 29 – 14 Exeter Sarries
Tries: Adam Norman (2), Henry Hamilton, George Morris
Conversions: Finn Booth (3)
Penalties: Finn Booth
Bideford U16s secured a 29–14 win over Exeter Sarries, but it was far from their most polished performance. A side usually known for its structure and composure looked uncharacteristically disjointed at times, making it a frustrating afternoon despite finishing 15 points clear.
The scrum was an area of dominance for Bideford, providing a solid platform throughout. However, the lineout struggled to function effectively. There were too many loose takes and misjudged calls, with jumpers failing to recognise opposition positioning. This was particularly disappointing given the time invested in this area in recent weeks, including specific options to counter defensive setups. It is certain to be a key focus in training this week, with an emphasis on simplifying calls and improving accuracy.
In the backs, Bideford appeared too flat in attack and occasionally chose the wrong options, particularly on the blindside. Missed tackles also allowed Exeter to stay in the contest longer than they should have. That said, there were positives, notably some excellent tactical kicking from Finn Booth, Alfie Fisher and Oli Cornish, which consistently pinned Exeter back and relieved pressure.
There is no doubt this group has significant potential, but performances will need to be sharper and more clinical moving forward. With Plymstock Albion visiting next week in the Cup Quarter Final, standards will have to rise considerably if Bideford are to progress.
Under 16 Girls
Bideford under 16 Girls were back in league action this week, hosting national finalist Ivybridge at Kingsley. Ivybridge started the game strongly, scoring their first try with just couple of minutes on the clock and taking advantage of some soft Bideford tackling. From that point the 15 players of Bideford started to work hard for each other and when they put phases together they looked dangerous and should of scored at least two tries of their own in the first half if it wasn’t for some fine defensive work and being held up over the line.
The visitors were relentless and even with Bideford’s Evelyn Cowle leading from the front and making countless strong tackles, any missed tackle or error in defence Ivybridge were able to continue to add to the scoreboard.
Midway through the first half Bideford 10, Bella Sussex, sustained an injury finishing her game early and reducing the team to 14 players, borrowing a player from Ivybridge we were able to continue 15 a side, however midway through the second half the game ended 50-0 to Ivybridge, the remainder of the time was played out to give the girls some good experience.
Overall, even though they lost, the Bideford team will take lots of positives from the game, the scrum continues to be strong and also won a couple of the opponents ball, line-outs and the break down continue to improve and generally tackling was good, however full credit to Ivybridge they were relentless and showed real quality in attack and real aggression in defence. Lots of girls played really well today, Player of the match went to hooker Leah Quinlan, she carried, tackled and rucked really well – it was her first game at hooker and on that performance it definitely won’t be her last!
Good luck to Bella on her recovery along with the Ivybridge and Devon under 16 fly half who also had to be carried off the pitch.
Under 12’s
Today the U12s packed all 15 available warriors into the cars and headed to Ilfracombe for what can only be described as a water-based sporting activity. On arrival, as the pitch was being coned out, the Ilfracombe coach managed to carve off a section of the first team pitch that was technically “within regulations” but felt roughly the size of a generous living room. Not exactly ideal for our expansive, champagne-rugby style, we prefer a big stage. That said, given the recent weather and the state of pitches across the county, we were just grateful to be playing somewhere that wasn’t entirely underwater.
Warm-up began in what can best be described as enthusiastic rain. Spirits were high, socks were already wet, and we quickly realised we’d need to be at our best. Ilfracombe had drafted in several U13s who didn’t just tower over our lads, they were making direct eye contact with the coaching team. Our objective for the day was simple: get stuck in, get muddy, and enjoy it. Spoiler alert: mission accomplished.
Kick-off arrived, and the rain decided it hadn’t quite peaked yet. The ball behaved like a bar of soap in a washing machine, no one wanted to hold onto it for long. There were knock-ons and dropped passes aplenty, and quite rightly the referee let a good number go, otherwise we’d still be there restarting scrums now. Tackling and rucking were excellent from both sides, despite conditions better suited to synchronised swimming.
We struggled early to find our shape, which allowed Ilfracombe to break the deadlock after five minutes. Their largest player (who may have shaved that morning) ran straight up the middle, requiring roughly five of ours to bring him down. The first half followed a similar pattern, with Ilfracombe adding another try while we threatened sporadically but couldn’t quite convert pressure into points.
Moment of the half goes to Gubby, who charged heroically into contact, tripped or slid (hard to say), and landed face-first in the turf. He stood up wearing approximately half the pitch. The water bottle was deployed for what can only be described as emergency landscaping.
In the second quarter, we rediscovered our structure, and suddenly things clicked. The ball started moving wide, support lines appeared, breakdown work improved, and the tries began to flow. Some excellent team moves saw us close the gap and build real momentum. A very strong response.
At half-time it was agreed we’d play one final third only, as the pitch was rapidly turning into a slip-and-slide. With Ilfracombe’s sizeable forwards now enjoying the downhill advantage, it proved tough to fully close the gap, and the game finished two tries down. By the end, every player was modelling a full mud kit ,faces included , but more importantly, every one of them was smiling.
The scoreboard didn’t matter. It was a proper rugby day.
Player of the Day could genuinely have gone to several players, as every single one put in a huge shift in testing conditions. It ultimately went to Seb for his strong tackling, powerful carries, and relentless work at the ruck, exactly what the game demanded.
Today was about getting cold, wet, muddy, and loving every minute of it. The boys did exactly that.
Well done everyone.
Next week: Torrington at home – we’ve ordered sunshine.
