Teignmouth 16 - 44 Bideford

Teignmouth’s baptism of fire in the Tribute South West One League continued last weekend with another defeat, this time at the hands of the only other Devonian side in the division.

Bideford have plenty of experience at this level and it showed, whereas newcomers Teignmouth are still learning the ropes, and although the home side once again started brightly, the effort of trying to cope with a bigger pack eventually wore them down.

However, there were, once again, some bright spots to lighten the gloom: the front row of George Mowson, Sonny Rowe and especially hooker and new skipper Pete Parsons gave a good account of themselves, winning three scrums against the head; Will Sowden showed that he still knows where the try line is, even at this level; and youngsters Dom Twine and Jack Bowen demonstrated for the second game running that they can be relied upon when older heads are unavailable.

As in the previous two home games the Teigns were in with a shout until just before half-time. Bideford’s Olly Wickett and Teignmouth’s Sam Fellows exchanged penalties early on before the visitors’ forward power forced Jonno Mock over the line for the first try on 17 minutes, which Wickett converted.

Fellows replied with a drop-goal on the half-hour to keep the Teigns in touch, but despite having a good deal of possession and territory, they couldn’t sustain the effort right to the break.

First winger James Buckland touched down for the visitors, and then Wickett kicked a second penalty to leave the home side trailing 6-18 at half-time.

When Bideford started the better in the second half, the result was beyond doubt within 15 minutes of the re-start. Tries from Chris Snell and Will Copp, both the result of mistakes from Teignmouth when in possession, and a conversion from Wickett put the visitors out of sight despite another Fellows penalty.

With the Teigns tiring in the last ten minutes two more tries from Wickett and Richard Norman were almost inevitable, and with the former converting both, the scoreboard reflected Bideford’s dominance, if not the effort made by the home side. Fortunately, Sowden’s late try, converted by Fellows, gave it an air of respectability.

There are two weeks before the next game, away to Avonmouth Old Boys, which will give the side a chance to work on new strategies for staying in the league, although perhaps not enough time for one or two to recover from injuries. This week the Seconds take on Tavistock at home, with a 3pm kick-off.