Teams 
This week saw the Chiefs run out for their first home game of the new season, welcoming OPMs, who arrived on the back of a strong win against Crediton. It’s been some years since the two sides last met, but OPMs are always a known quantity , a well-drilled pack with a powerful scrum and a lively back line, and they certainly lived up to that reputation, regardless of the final scoreline.
The match got off to a dramatic start when scrum-half Joey Faulkner suffered a nasty knee injury and was taken to hospital for scans. Everyone at the club sends their best wishes for his recovery. That early setback forced reshuffles, with Billy Cockwill stepping in at scrum-half and Sam Picillo coming off the bench to cover the wing.
Bideford were the first to strike, as a series of pick-and-go drives near the line ended with Dean Folland crashing over. Pat Sanders slotted the conversion to give the hosts an early advantage. Bideford looked sharp with ball in hand and played some entertaining heads-up rugby, though at times their offloading game was a pass too far, gifting OPMs turnovers instead of finding support. Folland impressed throughout, carrying strongly and making plenty of ground. A yellow card for Fraser Priest late in the half gave OPMs the momentum they needed, and their winger cut a superb line to score under the posts. Just before half-time, a high ball lost in the sun and a forward pass (debated fiercely on the sidelines) saw the visitors snatch another score, taking a 14–7 lead into the break.
Half-time brought some honest words between players and coaches, and Bideford returned to the field with renewed energy. Quick thinking from Cockwill put the hosts on the front foot, and a mounting penalty count against OPMs helped turn pressure into points. A well-executed catch-and-drive ended with Picillo crossing the line, before another lineout move saw Folland offload cleverly to skipper Nick Bone, who powered over out wide.
Bideford looked dangerous in open play but were guilty of leaving points on the pitch, with several promising breaks ending in misplaced passes. OPMs capitalised, hitting back with a try out wide before striking again from a high ball that their backs gathered smartly.
That stung Bideford into action. Straight from the restart, the forwards battered their way forward and the impressive Dec Smale bundled over, Sanders adding the extras. Moments later, a clean take from the kick-off gave Bone room to offload in midfield, and a neat switch move put Mark Schofield through to score. Sanders, in fine kicking form, converted again. The final word went to Charlie Stevenson, who latched onto a broken lineout move after some sharp hands from youngster Rich Weston. Stevenson showed his pace to race under the posts, with Sanders once more nailing the kick – his accuracy helped along, no doubt, by some pre-game guidance from Under-16s kicker Finn Booth. The final result a bonus point win 40-24
It was a strong and spirited display from the Chiefs, who will look to carry that momentum into next weekend’s cup clash against league rivals Exeter Sarries.
Where do we start with the Quins!
Coach Andy Loosemore described it as an amazing result, but he was quick to emphasise that it wasn’t just about who they beat, but how they went about it. That said, there’s no hiding the pride and buzz surrounding such a dominant victory over our high-flying neighbours.
For the first 20 minutes, it looked like we were in for a tight and competitive match. Both teams came out strong with some solid defensive rugby. However, it didn’t take long for the Bideford Quins to step things up a gear. Once they found their rhythm, the lads took complete control of the game, showing a level of dominance that left no doubt about who was the better side on the day.
Trying to list every individual scorer might take us into novel-length territory, but it’s fair to say both the backs and the forwards were outstanding from start to finish. The final scoreline, a commanding 71-7, speaks volumes about the performance.
Try scorers included Billy Teape, Ruben Stacey, Ethan Davies, Richard Norman, Louis Atkinson, Reece Pearn, and Kai Pett, with several of them crossing the line more than once. Kicking duties were shared between Reece Pearn and Freddie Palmer — and no, despite the margin, there was absolutely no chance we were letting the props near the tee!
There’s a small chance a few scorers were missed, some of the names reported back came courtesy of predictive text, which certainly added some humour to the post-match chat! Maybe next time we’ll get AI on the live scoring duties too…
One thing’s for sure: plenty of Quins players put their hands up for selection. With this week’s senior club game being a cup fixture, there will be real opportunities for some of these lads to step up into the game-day squad. After a performance like this, a few tough selection decisions might just be on the horizon.
On to the ladies…
Bideford ladies make the short trip across the border into the badlands of North Cornwall to face local rivals Bude.
After a draw and some administrative issues saw Bideford dumped from the cup last year during this fixture the Bideford ladies were keen to make amends in thier opening fixture of the 25/26 season.
An all new coaching set up alongside a new captain and vice captain combo of club stalwarts Hannah ‘throw the dummy’ Bright and Gabbie ‘nose job’ Archer led the way as the girls took to a damp riverside pitch at Bude.
The game kicked off as the rain turned horizontal and as Noah and his Ark drifted past on the rapidly swelling river Neet and early exchanges saw some physical exchanges in the midfield.
With the ball resembling a bar of soap there were knock ons aplenty which allowed the Bideford pack to exert their dominance in the scrum. Some good technical scrummaging polished under pre season prep by former premiership and Scotland scrum guru Moray Lowe saw Bideford secure all their own ball and turn over some of the Bude ball and even opting to take scrums in place of penalties as they played into a strong oncoming wind.
Sustained goaline pressure saw Ruth ‘no mates’ Boundy crash over from short range with the try being converted by Olivia ‘angry kid ‘ Taylor converting to make it 0-7 to Bideford.
Shortly after again some front foot ball created by the strong Bideford pods saw Amber ‘the Jackel’ Hallman cross the line for a second score (conversion missed)
Bude came back strong and with the defence of Bideford slipping high in a few tackles Bude crashed over in the corner to make it 5-12 at half time.
Turning round and playing with the wind saw Bideford dominate at least in territory the second half.
With a couple of cheeky nudges into the corner by Taylor and some strong pod work by the biddy 8 they camped out the majority of the of the second half in the Bude 22 but a combination of horrid conditions and some lapses in concentration leading to an unacceptable penalty count saw Bideford fail to convert this red zone pressure into the mass of points the pressure deserved.
Olivia Taylor crossed the line after a ninja like break (conversion missed) and shortly after she was joined on the score sheet by Mia ‘I’m a princess’ Wray (conversion missed) bringing the score to 5-22 where despite the continued pressure it remained.
Forward coach Dan ‘Two Pies’ Blight said he was pleased with the raw power of the Bideford pack, the clearing at offensive rucks and the beginnings of the pod structure he has worked so hard to install in the pre season but looks forward to seeing them more technically polished in the scrum and set piece. He was especially proud of the penetration offered by the running of Hannah, Ruth, Daisy, and Blue.”
Attack coach Jack ‘ Hi I’m Troy Maclure’ Blight commented he “ loved the control at 10 from Taylor and the line speed in defence shown through the centres. Wray got into the line well in attack but we must work on our tackling technique to get lower and give less penalties. I enjoyed welcoming Forces maestro Adi into the backs line and was excited to see Lexi giving it her all on the wing instead of her usual 9 shirt. Bright as ever was solid in defence and showed us her trademark dummy no less than 37 times, Scarlet’s work at 9 as always was consistent throughout the game.”
Bideford ladies next foray is their opening league match in three weeks which should present a challenging opposition in the form of Topsham ladies away.
The ladies sqaud would like to thank thier medical support team of Amy Phillipson, Emma Townsend and Brooke Lamas along with their official photographer Kevin Crowl and all their supporters who’s travelled to cheer them on.
Bideford ladies train every Wednesday 1900-2030 and welcome any new players regardless of experience
Fantastic night at the club with the Hoodoo Man providing some to class sing along music all night. We won, we played hard but its back to business this week at training for all the teams.
