Teams 
Bideford 26-24 Honiton
Try’s – Dec Smale, Charlie Stevenson (2), Kai Pett
Conversions – Reece Pearn (3)
Chiefs welcomed Honiton for a high-stakes final game of the season, with both sides battling for a strong finish near the top of the table. Starting the day in third, just one place behind their visitors, Chiefs knew a win could propel them into second. With the sun shining, music pumping from the Sin Bin bar, and a lively travelling crowd from Honiton adding to the sideline atmosphere, the stage was set for a memorable encounter.
Pre-match, the message from the coaches was simple: promotion scenarios were out of their hands, but victory was essential to give themselves the best possible chance.
Bideford kicked off and immediately capitalised on an awkward bounce, swarming forward to pressure the Honiton line. However, the visitors held firm and cleared effectively before turning defence into attack. A strong tactical kicking game from their fly-half pinned Chiefs back, and from a lineout, Honiton’s centres broke through to set up the opening try with a sharp inside pass.
Chiefs responded well, building momentum through controlled phases and intelligent playmaking. Reece Pearn dictated the tempo, while Joey Faulkner’s quick distribution created space for powerful carries from Fred Fishleigh and Kai Pett. A scrum deep in Honiton territory set the platform, and Dec Smale called his shot, driving over from number eight with sheer determination. Pearn added the conversion to level the score.
The next try was a moment of brilliance. A loose ball at the base of a ruck fell kindly to Sam Olde, who burst through with a clever dummy to split the defence. Support arrived in the form of Dean Folland, who drew the final defender before offloading to Charlie Stevenson to finish in the corner. Honiton, however, remained dangerous and soon edged back in front with a well-worked try out wide.
Chiefs refused to relent. A powerful surge from Sam Bola drew multiple defenders, creating space for a slick attacking move. Folland and Pearn combined cleverly before the ball was moved wide through George Terry, whose inside pass found Kai Pett charging over the line. Pearn’s conversion nudged Chiefs back ahead going into half-time.
After the break, the heat and hard ground made conditions challenging. A long restart from Honiton took an unfortunate bounce dead, handing Chiefs a scrum at halfway and an opportunity to build pressure. Despite dominating territory, Honiton struck back with a penalty. Needing just a single point to secure second place, they opted for goal and edged ahead once more.
But the lead was short-lived. A misplaced box kick from Honiton led to a knock-on, and quick thinking from Sam Olde set Charlie Stevenson free. From halfway, he sliced through three defenders to score under the posts. Pearn converted, restoring Chiefs’ advantage.
Honiton continued to fight, adding another try and pushing for a losing bonus point, but a late penalty attempt drifted wide. With calculations confirming that second place was secured, Chiefs calmly brought the game to a close, Pearn tapping and kicking to touch to spark jubilant celebrations that carried long into the night.
While promotion remains uncertain, Chiefs could not have done more, leaving everything on the pitch in a performance full of heart, skill, and determination. Following the match, Fred Fishleigh was deservedly named Players’ Player, capping off an outstanding season for both him and the team.
Quins End Season in Style with Dominant Win Over Bude
Bideford Quins 55–24 Bude
Trys – Mark Schofield (2), Jordan Taylor, Billy Teape (2), Max Walker, Freddy Palmer, Dylan Haste, Dexter De Wreede
Conversions – Freddy Palmer (5)
Bideford Quins wrapped up their season in emphatic fashion with an entertaining victory over Bude seconds, who made the short trip to North Devon on a scorching day. Despite the ideal playing conditions, both sides took time to settle, and it was the visitors who struck first, capitalising on a rare visit into the 22 to break through and open the scoring.
Quins responded with patience and control. After building through multiple phases, Mark Schofield spotted a gap and darted through to score in the corner. Freddy Palmer added an excellent conversion to edge Bideford ahead. Momentum quickly followed, and from a similar position on the field, Jordan Taylor powered onto a perfectly timed pass to crash over with a strong, direct line.
Schofield soon grabbed his second, showing sharp instincts with a clever dummy before driving over. Bude, however, refused to fade and kept themselves in the contest with another well-earned try.
From deep inside their own half, Quins then produced one of the standout moments of the match. A slick, well-rehearsed backs move released Billy Teape, who stormed through the defensive line and fended off two would-be tacklers to score in style. Bude answered again, taking a quick tap penalty to keep the scoreboard ticking.
As the game wore on, Quins began to assert real dominance in both possession and territory. Max Walker powered through the middle to score under the posts, with Palmer converting once more. Palmer then turned try-scorer himself, selling a convincing dummy before strolling over untouched and adding the extras to his own score.
Young talent also made its mark. Colts player Dylan Haste showed great determination with a pick-and-go effort to cross the line, again converted by Palmer. Bude managed another reply, but Quins were relentless.
Matt Tobin demonstrated sharp awareness and pace to break through and offload to Billy Teape, who finished in the corner for his second try of the day. The final word fittingly went to another Colt, Dexter De Wreede, making his senior debut at scrum-half. Spotting a gap at the base of the ruck, he showed composure beyond his years to dart over and cap a memorable introduction.
A high-scoring, free-flowing contest brought the curtain down on the season in style, blending experience with exciting young talent, giving Quins plenty to be optimistic about moving forward.
Bideford U17s Impress in Convincing Win Over Barnstaple
Bideford 29–7 Barnstaple
Tries – George Evans, Charlie Corner, Harry Parker, George Morris, Seb Cackett
Conversions – Finn Booth, Finn Potter
Bideford U17s delivered a strong and cohesive performance under the Friday night lights, overcoming Barnstaple in a well-contested fixture designed to integrate U16 players into Colts rugby. With RFU regulations allowing eight U16s to feature, the match provided a valuable opportunity for development, and the young Bideford side rose to the challenge impressively.
Played in quarters to allow for water breaks and rotation in the hot conditions, Bideford started brightly with a number of U16s in the opening lineup. Leadership on the pitch came from Freddie Allebone-Parish, whose experience helped settle the side early. Charlie Corner quickly made his presence felt, combining powerful defence with incisive line breaks, while Oli Cornish and Finn Booth varied the attack effectively with a mix of kicking and distribution.
Bideford soon found their rhythm, and sustained forward pressure from a set-piece scrum led to George Evans finishing a series of pick-and-go drives to open the scoring. An early setback followed as Cornish was forced off with a recurring ankle injury, replaced by the lively Dexter De Wreede.
Into the second quarter, Barnstaple attempted to reinforce their pack, but Bideford’s forwards, led by Ed Wensley, George Morris, and George Evans, continued to dominate the scrum despite giving away a significant weight advantage. With James Maycock and Charlie Morris controlling the lineout, Bideford consistently secured possession and territory.
Charlie Corner then added to the scoreline in opportunistic fashion. After a penalty was awarded, he took a quick tap while Barnstaple reorganised, calmly crossing under the posts. Finn Booth converted. The Bideford back three of Alfie Fisher, Charlie Akland, and Dalton Roy-George remained a constant threat, and although Dalton was unlucky not to gather a well-placed kick, the resulting pressure allowed the forwards to drive over, with Harry Parker claiming the try. The centre pairing of Freddie and Seb worked really well both powerful and fast a real handful.
At half-time, further changes were made, but Bideford’s control continued. Finn Potter dictated play smartly, using tactical kicking to pin Barnstaple deep in their own half. From a well-worked attacking platform, a catch-and-drive was halted illegally, and from the advantage, George Morris powered over following more forward pressure.
Another standout moment came from Harry Parker, who picked from the base of a scrum, drew in defenders, and released Seb Cackett with a perfectly timed pass. Cackett ran in from just inside the halfway line to score out wide, with Potter adding the conversion.
The third quarter saw Bideford maintain control, with strong contributions from Will Moesby, Adam Norman, and Ethan Walker in both defence and attack, while Billy Eastwood added energy off the bench. Alfie Richards also impressed with some direct, hard-running carries.
Barnstaple had the final say, crossing from a quick tap penalty and converting in the closing stages, but it did little to dent what was an assured Bideford performance.
Perhaps most encouraging was how quickly the group gelled. Despite limited time training together, the players showed strong cohesion, communication, and resilience, supporting each other throughout with a positive attitude. A dominant display up front, combined with intelligent and physical back play, made for an entertaining and promising outing for this developing squad.
Our U14s and U12s have travelled to Newton Abbot for their respective festivals. All played amazingly well and represented Bideford RFC magnificently. Well done girls.
U12s played host to a small gathering of just 23 other teams (including a Barbarians side, because why not?) for the annual Devon festival in Bideford. It was an early start, but with the sun doing its absolute best impression of the South of France, even the most reluctant risers couldn’t really complain. Before long, pitches were lined, the BBQ was firing, the cake stall looked dangerously tempting, and the raffle prizes were being quietly eyed up… all that remained was a bit of rugby.
We had two main storylines today: the Bideford squad doing their thing, and a band of travelling adventurers representing the Barbarians. A big shoutout to Phill Mason for taking on the Barbarians coach role, fully embracing the classic philosophy: if in doubt, throw it wide and worry about the score later.
Starting with Bideford, and honestly, it was less “warm-up” and more “statement of intent.” Three games, three wins, and not a single try conceded — the defensive line was tighter than the queue at the cake stall. The standout moment of the group stage came against Devonport Services, a proper arm wrestle that stayed 0–0 until the very last play, when Ronnie decided enough was enough and went on a barnstorming run to snatch it at the death. Casual.
Compliments flowed from coaches and referees alike about how well-drilled the team looked (we’ll take that, thank you very much). Honiton managed to sneak the first try against us, which was frankly rude, but we still came away comfortable winners. A narrow loss to Teignmouth followed — one of those games that could’ve gone either way, and on another day probably would have.
Into the Ethan Roots Cup semi-final we went, facing Exeter Saracens. Another tight contest, another fine margin, and unfortunately this time it didn’t fall our way. But genuinely, nothing to be disheartened about — the performance showed exactly what this team is capable of, and most importantly, the boys enjoyed the day. Which, apparently, is the whole point.
Bideford results:
• Bideford 5 – Brixham 0
• Bideford 3 – Torquay Athletic 0
• Bideford 1 – Devonport Services 0
• Bideford 7 – Honiton 1
• Bideford 1 – Teignmouth 2
• Bideford 1 – Exeter Saracens 1
Now to the Barbarians — rugby’s answer to organised chaos. A mix of players from different clubs meant structure was… optional at times, but enthusiasm absolutely wasn’t. True to form, there were flashes of brilliant, heads-up rugby, plenty of ball-slinging, and a general commitment to enjoying the day.
They battled their way all the way to the Dafydd Jenkins final mixing with Honiton for the final. The final didn’t quite go their way, but that didn’t dampen the mood. Special mention from Coach Mason goes to Felix, who somehow played every minute of every game, showing great energy and respect throughout — exactly what the Barbarians spirit is all about.
Barbarians results:
• Barbarians 1 – Exeter Saracens 2
• Barbarians 1 – Plymouth Argaum 1
• Barbarians 1 – Newton Abbot 4
• Barbarians 0 – Tiverton 4
• Barbarians 0 – Kingsbridge 4
• Barbarians 1 – Plymstock Oaks 5
Finally, a huge thank you to all the parent helpers, volunteer referees, and Lucy for organising the whole event. What a day. The feedback from visiting teams was brilliant, with many already planning return trips — partly for the rugby, but let’s be honest, also for the cakes.
For some, this marked the final games of the season — a cracking way to finish. For others, there’s no rest as we head off on tour to Minehead next week to do it all over again. Recovery plans are already in place (mainly involving food), and excitement levels are high.
The U10’s took 22 players to Exeter Athletic, mixing two equal teams to take on the best of the rest in Devon. After a vigorous and motivational warm up led by guest coach, Jim Lawson, the team were primed for action. The pitches were good to firm from the off and our first aid team didn’t haven’t a minutes peace over the course of 12 Bideford matches. Games were played against Newton Abbott, Sidmouth, Plymouth Albion, Devonport Services, Topsham and Torquay.
At the end of the day, we’d played 12, won 10, lost 1 and drew 1.
The results were the outcome of the amazing commitment and effort of every player to work hard for each other. We even got a bonus game against an undefeated side and played out a thriller of a 1-0, Arsenal style victory.
Most pleasingly, many referee’s commented on how well our players respected the referee and listened to their feedback during the games.
The day capped off a fantastic season for the U10s and we look forward to building on our strengths and working on development areas as U11s next season.
