Away to Argaum can be hard to play, a bit of a slope at one end such that you can’t see the try line from halfway, and well known for being cold when exposed to a wind off Dartmoor.
Indeed a few weeks back a visitor to Plymouth wanted to watch a game of rugby and selected Argaum for an afternoon’s enjoyment. He arrived on the touchline on a particularly wet and breezy afternoon, “It’s b***** cold here” he remarked to an Argaum supporter, “Where are you from?” the supporter asked “The Orkneys” said the visitor.
So that’s it, Argaum is officially cold.
On an afternoon that was sunny and with an early breeze that favoured Argaum, we kicked off to them with them playing downhill. They ran back at us and on four minutes bundled down the slope to the corner flag and for Owen Gocher to score, an excellent side-line conversion by Cheyenne Edwards sailed over and they were 7 ~ 0 up.
I think we were expecting a reasonably easy win given we were top of the table and they were tenth.
This early setback was not following the script. As in these situations, you think to yourself that they will sort themselves out and we will soon be back on script.
It didn’t happen. Argaum were showing great spirit and really took the game to us preventing us from getting much together. Their pack was well on top right from the off.

On ten minutes a lineout to Argaum just outside our twenty-two, they took the throw and mauled at a reasonable speed, that we were unable to stop, and over the line in the same spot as the first try with Jamie Venner the try scorer. The conversion was missed. 12~0.
The rest of the half was mainly us defending which we did well. We had a few runs at them but only just getting into their twenty-two. It was not until a few minutes before the halftime break that we got close to their line from a penalty and a long kick.
We took the ball at the front nicely and looked as if we might maul over to score, because we had been mauling quite well on a couple of occasions, with that veteran forward Dean Avery, for ten years captain at Newton Abbott, did the most magical ball steal and broke away by twenty feet before being tackled, with that the referee blew for half time. I have no idea how he did it, it was so smoothly done he could be on the stage as a magician.
So there it was, we were 12~0 down at the break and not really looking like we were going to score.
As I said earlier, we on the sidelines were quietly confident that after a half-time ‘Hairdryer’ team talk we could pull ourselves together and with wind, slope and fitness start to run all over them.
Again it didn’t happen, We did start brightly getting quickly into their twenty-two only to be stopped. Argaum continued to run at us, they continued to defend well and we made errors. Overall the penalty count was heavily against us.
However, as the half went on Argaum started to look weary from their efforts, players going down for this and that, but still we could not break them despite our pack getting on top of theirs.
Our lineouts were going nicely with Kyle Felton catching well and being very busy around the pitch and making good ground, Tyler Busfield was also busy and in the thick of it.
On the half-hour Argaum were held up on our line, had they scored that would have been the end of any chances of winning.
With maybe six minutes to go a win seemed impossible. However, from the kick out we won the lineout and mauled for their line, cries of “Don’t let them score” wafted across the pitch,
but on we went and over near the corner flag, Josh Cumberland the try scorer. Then I think the kick of the season by Lewie Riley, from not that far in from the sidelines a drop kick that neatly bisected the posts. We had been slow bringing on a tee so with time running out to take the kick he had taken a quick and speculative drop kick.
With the score now at 12 ~7 at least we had a bonus point.

As the clock raced to full time, the Argaum coaches were shouting that it must be full time.
“ Time for a restart” shouted the referee Lee Maher. He told me later that there were thirty seconds left on the clock.
Standing next to Spider Kelly “ he said to me “We could win this if we take it and ran back at them”
Their coaches were shouting to their players to “Slow it down”.
They kicked the ball high to us, we took it cleanly, then sent it to the backs and after a couple of hands to Toby Lean who had a run getting up to halfway, as he was tackled he got the ball away to Dylan Daley, he managed to keep in open space and avoid the few defenders and looking over his shoulder now and again raced for the posts and over under the crossbar. The photo of the score is out of focus but I have left it in to record the moment. The away supporters erupted with cheers. The home crowd and players were downcast, the scores were level and it was down to Lewie Riley to make the great escape reality, again a drop kick and over it went. 12~14.
With that the referee blew for full-time.
I did feel sorry for their players and said so to Dean Avery, they played their socks off and gave everything only for it to be snatched away with one of the few really sparking moments in our game. One consolation they had, they did pick up a bonus point.
Afterwards, Tony Sibley agreed with me that we didn’t really deserve to win and I think the other players probably felt the same.
Still, the record shows we did win and it keeps us top of the table four points ahead of Barnstaple but a game ahead of them.
Next week another top of the table clash at home this time against Barnstaple II.