The seconds..
We welcomed Barnstaple II to The Rectory this afternoon for the return game, up there it was close with Barnstaple winning 29~24.
We were expecting a close game and so it was until the last twenty minutes.
A few minutes in and at one point we put in a slightly high tackle that the referee played advantage for, on halfway they put in a rather loose pass that we intercepted and probably would have scored from had the referee not been playing advantage, so with that, he called them back for a penalty, Dan Johnson took a kick at the posts from midfield and just outside out twenty-two but it missed. On four minutes and we ran back at them but after a couple of minutes, they got hold of the ball and managed to break our line with Ben Jago eventually running in diagonally and touching down by the scoreboard for an easy try. The conversion was missed. 0~5.

The teams sparred for the next fifteen minutes or so when Billy Sutton got hold got the ball on about halfway and made off for their try line, he handed off a couple of tackle attempts and very nearly got to their try line when he was tackled, I think if he had dived he might have scored but as it was he didn’t quite make it.
On about eighteen minutes we had a close-in lineout that we took and drove from but we were stopped a couple of feet short.
Then on twenty minutes, we won a penalty that Lewie Riley kicked for three points. 3~5.
Seven minutes later we won another penalty this time just in from halfway and midfield, Lewie Riley kicked it over to give us a slender lead at 6~5.
Closing in on half time Barnstaple got to our line and attacked six or seven times but we defended really well and won a scrum and kicked out.
Right on half time, just when we didn’t want it they scored their second try, we were attacking out of our half and on halfway made a loose pass that they took advantage of, their player went for the posts and looked like he might have made it but one of our backs raced back to try and stop him. From a spectator’s point of view it was like a slow-motion film, with the Barnstaple player trying to get to the posts and our defender trying to catch him, inch by inch he got closer to their runner and eventually pulled him down short.
The supporting Barnstaple players took the ball on and attacked twice eventually sending it wide to Tom Swales who despite a flying tackle attempt went over at the school end stand side corner, the conversion kick didn’t sound right, went high but fell well short, so at half time the score stood at a close 6~10.
They had one chance to score but didn’t and we had two so it could have been 20~17 to us, but it wasn’t.
Their scrum was well on top of our though Tyler Busfield was managing to get the ball away at No8.
Both team's lineouts were working well.

We kicked off the second half to them with us playing towards the school end.
The story of the half was really all theirs, we were often on the back foot having to defend well, and in attack we were not really making the ground or finding the open spaces.
Four minutes in and an accurate long penalty kick gave them a five-yard lineout, they took it and drove twice for the line but were held out then at the third lunge Mitch Turner forced his way low and over for the try. 6~15. The conversion was missed.

On eight minutes we had two catch-and-drive attacks on their line, on the first they stole our ball and kicked away and on the second we knocked it on going for the line. Two good chances were missed.
On seventeen minutes another penalty to us that Lewie Riley kicked over to make it 9~15.
At this point we were still well in the game, our pack had started to hold theirs.
But, on twenty minutes from a second scum on our line and this time they send it blind and despite a heroic tackle by Lewis Riley that winded him, Tom Swales went over for his second score. The conversion was missed. 9~20.
On another five-yard lineout, they threw short to the frontman at the lineout, but Tony Sibley was up to it and tacked him before he could do anything with it.
On twenty-eight minutes from a lineout a try to Barnstaple, They attacked along the line, dropped the ball twice but twice it fell backwards and they carried on to score under the crossbar, the first conversion of the game for Barnstaple was kicked over by Dan Johnson. 9~27.
They had one more scrum on our line that they won, the No8 picked and went but tripped on the open side flanker's foot and lost the ball forwards.

To end the game a try to Barnstaple that came so quickly that we were unable to defend it, it was scored by the right winger Harvey Rostock who made a theatrically high dive over the line to score at the turnstile corner. The sideline conversion was a good one and they had won by 9~34.
I have to say they were more clinical than us certainly in the last twenty, up till then we were in it, had we scored then the result might have been much closer.
The game was well refereed by Kieran ‘Muddy’ Mudd of the Plymouth Society who was refereeing only his sixth game. A good game, he should go far.
The result drops us to second in the league by a point but Barnstaple have a game in hand.
Torquay are a point behind us but with two games in hand.