Sat 14 Sep 2024
Rugby used to be a 15 a side game, but nowadays the 15 that take to the field are usually supported by a 3, in our league anyway. Kingsbridge taking their first trip across the Tamar this season to Bude, went with just the bare 15.
Already on the back foot for numbers, head coach Doove Stephens had to play the full 80 minutes in the second row, with Stuart Giles filling in as hooker, due to the unavailability of others. Both players deserve huge credit for their performances. Fr the team to flourish in the league, others need to step up and offer their services. A bare 15 is not enough.
Bude kicked off down the slope with the wind behind them and within a couple of minutes Kingsbridge found themselves a converted try down. Things got even worse for the visitors when once again the Bude big men ran through the defence and cored another converted try to make the score 14-0 within ten minutes.
The small band of Kingsbridge supporters, it wouldn’t take log to name them all, were starting to think the worst. Somehow the Blue and Whites regained their composure and started to play. Their defence tightened up and they started to make inroads into the home sides defence. From one of their forays into the Bude 22 the ball came out to winger Gareth Coombes, who jinked his way past a couple of defenders and somehow managed to get the ball onto the line to give Kingsbridge a much needed score. The conversion went just wide.
The Kingsbridge pack was actually dominating the scrums but Bude had some very strong powerful runners at 10, 12 and 13 and they kept making precious yards towards the Kingsbridge line. One missed tackle saw Bude run in another converted try to give them a 21-5 lead at half time.
With the wind behind them, Kingsbridge hopes of a comeback were soon boosted by some intelligent kicking from fly half Ben Newman. A source of territorial gain they don’t use enough. Having camped on the Bude line for several minutes they were rewarded when scrum half Joe Banfield scored to reduce the deficit. Newman’s conversion made it 21-12.
Unfortunately the visitors gave away a penalty which Bude converted to pull away to 24-15.
This setback seemed to spur the Kingsbridge team on again and soon another run, by the perpetual motion that is Dave Harris ended with him stretching successfully over the line for the visitor’s third try. The conversion was narrowly missed.
Bude added another penalty following a Kingsbridge yellow card to extend their lead out to 27-15 before Kingsbridge reduced their lead back to 27-22 with a try from vice captain Dan Jarvis.
The clock ran down before Kingsbridge could get back into the hoem sides half and the final score of 27-22 just about reflected Budes supremacy outside the scurm.
The 15 who turned out deserve massive praise for the way theyr stuck to their task. A word for the teams Manager who is away for a few weeks – Kev Baldry is having an operation and everyone at KRFC wishes him a very speedy recovery .
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