Teams 
Bideford Run Riot at Home with Clinical Display Against Withycombe
Trys – George Terry, Fred Fishleigh, Dean Folland, Jack Balsdon, Reece Pearn (2), Ruben Stacey
Cons – Reece Pearn, Mitch Harris
Bideford welcomed Withycombe for their second meeting of the season, knowing they faced a dangerous side who have taken notable scalps this year, including Topsham. Bideford may have edged the earlier away fixture, but there was no expectation of an easy afternoon at home. In response, Biddy produced one of their most complete performances of the campaign — clinical out wide and dominant through the middle.
From the kick-off, Bideford showed their intent to play expansively, moving the ball deep inside their own half. It was ambitious and at times risky, but after 12 phases they worked their way into the Withy half and began to apply sustained pressure. Camped on the opposition five-metre line, they were eventually denied by a knock-on — though the interplay and confidence on show set the tone.
The breakthrough came through sharp handling across the backs. Reece Pearn made an incisive break before linking with Jack Balsdon, who accelerated down the touchline and cut a superb line. His inside pass found Ethan Paddon, who was hauled down just short, but the pack arrived with intent and George Terry powered over. Pearn added the extras.
Fred Fishleigh was influential throughout, combining smartly with Dean Folland to stretch the Withy defence. Sam Olde drew in defenders before delivering a perfectly timed inside ball for Fishleigh to cross. In the tight exchanges, Dec Smale and Paul Short carried relentlessly, causing problems up the middle, while Bideford’s set-piece impressed — disrupting lineouts and competing fiercely at the breakdown.
The backs continued to find space, and another well-worked move saw Mitch Harris combine with Balsdon to establish field position inside the Withy 22. From there, the forwards took control, and Folland showed strength and footwork in equal measure — handing off one defender and stepping the last to score. At the break, Bideford held a deserved 17–3 lead.
Early in the second half, Bideford were briefly put under pressure after kicking out on the full. Withy opted for the blindside, but Balsdon read it well. A spilled ball in the tackle allowed him to hack ahead and win the race to score just three minutes after the restart.
Fresh legs from Will Copp, Zack Powell and Ruben Stacey maintained the tempo. A slick inside pass from Sam Griffin released Pearn for his second try out wide, before a sustained period of pressure ended with Stacey finishing in the corner. Harris capped the move with an excellent touchline conversion.
Attention now turns to a tough local derby against an impressive South Molton side. Following a closely fought encounter earlier in the season, supporters can expect another fiercely contested clash this weekend.
Under 16s
Bideford 41–12 South Molton
After a superb cup semi-final victory, Bideford’s Under 16s travelled to face South Molton in a friendly, taking the opportunity to rotate the squad and experiment with combinations.
In the first half, no fewer than five wingers featured across the back line, bringing a lively mix of pace and power. Several players were given the chance to step into new positions out wide, while others were rested on the bench, valuable game time and experience all round.
As expected, South Molton brought their trademark aggressive defence and direct, no-nonsense rugby, relying heavily on pick-and-go phases. Bideford knew that if they could withstand that early pressure, their superior fitness and speed out wide would create opportunities.
Oscar Williams delivered an outstanding first-half performance, carrying strongly and repeatedly breaking the gain line. From one of these powerful surges, Bideford earned field position and worked through a series of pick-and-drives before George Morris crossed the line to open the scoring.
Bideford controlled the first half comfortably, adding two further tries while limiting South Molton to a single score. Oscar Williams and Thomas Reed both impressed after switching from the wings into the centres, adapting seamlessly and contributing strongly in both attack and defence.
In the second half, further changes were introduced, with some of the more senior players stepping up, and up the slope, maintaining composure and clinical finishing. Bideford added four more tries, converting two, to seal a convincing 41–12 win.
It was a strong all-round performance from the Biddy lads. Finn Booth continued his excellent run of form with a superb 50/20 for the third consecutive game. Alfie Fisher was solid and reliable, doing all the basics well, while Harry Parker made a real impact off the bench. Caleb Stanton also had an excellent afternoon in the lineout, claiming a number of South Molton’s throws.
A valuable run-out and another impressive performance as the squad continues to build momentum.
Under 15’s
The U15s welcomed Bude to Bideford, the first time we’ve been at the club since September and what a difference it makes😁
Bideford have never beaten Bude with this group but last year was tight so this promised to be the same. The game didn’t disappoint and was a proper battle between two evenly matched teams. There was some great attacking from both teams with equally great defence to keep the scores close. Both teams traded two tries a piece in the first half with Bideford also securing a conversion to lead 12-10 at half time. The second half was equally competitive but Bideford were dominating territory and eventually crashed over for their third try of the match, a successful conversion saw Bideford edge into a 19-10 lead with about 15 minutes left. Bude didn’t give up and after some nice forward play their 10 sliced through the Bideford defence, ran the length of the pitch and scored under the posts. The conversion brought the score to 19-17 with 5 minutes left. Bude then put huge pressure on Bideford as they smelt blood. With time up Bideford couldn’t get out of their 22 and although they regained possession they got isolated and held onto the ball on the ground. This left Bude with kickable penalty to win and end the game. Fortunately for Bideford, the Bude kicker obviously felt the pressure and nudged it wide leaving Bideford to secure a hard fought victory. The try scores for Bideford were Alfie Gilbert (15) Charlie Beaman (6) and Hayden Keets (3). The coaches player of the match went to our 9, Ethan Lawson whilst the parents player of the match went Breck Fearnley our 12.
U14 girls Kingsley tournament
Tournament Report
WOW what a day where do us coaches start.
So for those that couldn’t make it summary of the day as follows …
We started the day really well and won 3 of our first 4 matches ( won 3 drew 1 )
Come up against a very strong kingsbridge team in our last game who were dominating everyone they played.
We lost our final group game against them but my my did they know they were in a game and didn’t by any stretch dominate our bideford girls.
We qualified out of the group of 6 as runners up and into the cup quarter final where we drew the winners of the other group – newton abbott.
An extremely tight quarter final we took the lead before letting them back into the game and were losing 2-1 . fresh legs came on and turned the tied and we drew level at 2-2 (the noise at this point 😱😉)
Referee decided 3 min extra time and golden try (so first team to score wins) we had our chances and could / should have stolen it really but some tired legs and they scored at the death in extra time. Winning 3-2.
Gutted for the girls a cruel way to lose but that’s sport win some And lose some but we do it as a team in the right spirit of the game
What was most pleasing today was the effort and application of everyone. A real squad effort and everyone played their part. We also turned a few heads with other coaches and parents making positive comments how we played.
The noise from the parents & most importantly the other girls not actually playing and who come to support their team mates in that quarter final especially really was something special !
Well done to all you girls
No player of the day today too proud of everyone.
What today did show is we are a proper team of talented young girls growing all the time and as a girls section We are a proper club!
So we learn and move and let’s go again 👊
Kingsbridge went on and won the final 5-0 vs Launceston. And we gave them a good game so lots of positives
Well done all 👍❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️🤍
Under 12s
This morning saw the mighty U12s pack their passports (well… shin pads) and head bravely into the far-flung lands of Cornwall, Bude for the seasons return fixture. Spirits were lifted immediately by the most unexpected of Cornish miracles: no rain. Not even a drizzle. A stark contrast to our previous aquatic adventure in Ilfracombe, where snorkels would not have been out of place.
As the troops drifted in, the warm-up followed the usual pattern — mild chaos evolving into organised chaos — before settling into a focused routine. Two strong teams had been carefully pencilled in: one for the first half, one for the second, ensuring everyone got a solid run-out. A few got volunteered to be rotated and fill the gaps.
With everyone clear on where they were meant to be (and roughly when), Captain Jake handled the pre-match formalities like a seasoned international, and we were off.
And what a start. No slow burn today — the lads flew out of the blocks. Big tackles, sharp support lines, proper shape going forward. A coach’s dream. In many matches this season, we’ve treated the first ten minutes like a warm-up extension and then had to chase the scoreboard. Not today. Today we decided scoring first was much more enjoyable — and the tries began to flow.
Bar one rather “creative” Bude effort (we’re still not entirely sure how that happened), the first half was dominated by Bideford. The 9–10 axis of Charlie H and Ross pulled the strings beautifully, the backs shared the ball like it was Christmas morning, and gaps began appearing all over the pitch.
Try of the half? After several powerful forward drives — proper mud-up-the-shorts stuff — we created an overlap on the left. The ball zipped out of the ruck, through hands down the line, and in for a simple finish. Textbook. Coaches everywhere nodded knowingly.
When the whistle finally went (after what felt like three working days), we were a very pleased coaching unit.
Half-time. Bib swap. Enter the finishers.
Now, traditionally, this can mean five minutes of “Where do I stand again?” and “Who’s marking 10?” Not today. The second half started exactly as the first ended — high intensity at the breakdown, strong tackling, and some excellent jackling from Billy. Stan C and Charlie F controlled the 9–10 channel with real authority. It was sharp. It was confident. It was brilliant.
More tries followed, many built on slick passing and good decision-making. Confidence on the sidelines grew to the point where, when we had a scrum five metres out, us coaches were mentally remortgaging their homes in anticipation of the inevitable try. We were right. The ball moved smoothly through hands before Billy crashed over to finish it off. Job done.
Late in the game we rotated again to top up minutes where we could, safe in the knowledge that everyone had earned their half. This led to a slight dip and allowed Bude a couple of consolations — but by then the result was beyond doubt.
A cracking morning’s work for the U12s, finishing “lots to a few” (official scoring terminology).
Player of the Day was a tough call. Several lads put their hands up with outstanding performances. In the end, though, one player had a day out — scoring as many tries as we think the entire Bude side managed, tackling hard, clearing rucks, and picking superb running lines.
Take a bow, Seth. Outstanding.
Next week we’re back at home against Okehampton and Barnstaple. More of the same please, lads… preferably with the same weather.
Under 9’s
Match report from Under 9’s at Bude today:
At short notice the under 9’s put forward two teams of a 6 and a 7 to brave the trip down to Cornwall. The reverse fixture earlier in the season had been a bruising eye opener as it was their first contact match and a physical one at that so there was a degree of trepidation; Bude had some tall, tough, strong runners who were direct and willing to front up. This time around they didn’t disappoint, however neither did the Bideford boys and girls. After a robust warm up the kids were fully focused and ready for the task. The rain even stopped and despite the recent weather the pitch was firm underfoot, ideal for a running game. Although the under 9’s hadn’t played for a few months they took to their roles with immense discipline, blending a growing understanding of the game with gritty resilience in both defence and attack. The try count started from the kick off, both sides were equally matched with a combination of evasive wingers exploiting space and more direct power through the middle. The tackling was clinical and relentless; everybody worked for each other and despite a black eye, many cuts and bruises, Bude also had three players limp off and quickly realised that despite playing on their home turf, Bideford weren’t going to let them dictate the play. Throughout the round robin of matches between the four teams, Bideford kept a good defensive line; even as they tired they kept their shape and were capable of starting attacks deep inside their half. Likewise when on the back foot the boys and girls stayed composed and were relentless in defence. The games were good natured with clean tackling and very few unforced errors, both sides had developed immensely in game awareness and physicality since the previous fixture in October. Ezra and Sully were men of the match. Gracie has a smart shiner to boast about at school tomorrow morning.
Under 7s
U7s fulfilled an away fixture with Bude today.
The fixture was played at Honiton School on their astro-turf pitch.
12 x Bideford players lined up against 7 x Bude players.
Bideford’s youngest talent played well throughout. A boat loads of tries were scored. Bruce, Spencer.Q and Bertie in particular racked up the try count. There was rock solid defense from Dawson and Jake in particular.
Special mention to Reggie, Teddy, Bruce and Alice who all did stints for Bude to balance the numbers.
Lovely sausage rolls 😋
