Sidmouth 2nds were 29-10 winners when they travelled to Bideford for their latest fixture.

The large pitch was in good condition considering the recent weather, which benefited Sidmouth as it gave the men in green the opportunity to play an expansive offloading style of play.

They were quickly into their stride and, after some quick handling and a succession of clean effective clear-outs at the breakdown involving both forwards and backs, the ball was taken over the whitewash by Ryan Davies for an uncoverted try.

Adam Squance had spurned the conversion chance, but he swiftly made amends as he scored an excellent individual try! The fly-half broke clear from near halfway and succeeded in evading the attention of five would-be tacklers before dotting down under the posts to put Sidmouth into a 12-0 lead in as many minutes of play!

They scored a third try through Asa Unsworth, who dived over in the left corner following a slick handling move and a spell of intense pressure.

The fourth, and bonus point, try was scored by centre Jake Watts and this time Squance was on target with his conversion.

The first half hour saw Sidmouth run in four tries and the only area where Bideford had an advantage was at the scrum; their size and power on two occasions lead to stealing the ball on Sidmouth’s put-in.

Late in the half Bideford used their scrummaging superiority to good effect. A solid centre field scrum in the Sidmouth 22 provided the platform for the Bideford backs to score in the right corner; the tricky conversion was missed and half-time arrived with Sidmouth leading 24-5.

The opening stages of the second half were rather scrappy in more ways than one. Neither side could maintain a foothold territorially or via continued possession as both sides cancelled each other out.

Bideford scored first after the break with an unconverted try. That set the tone for a period of strong offensive home play that was met with fierce resistance by some excellent Sidmouth defending.

Sidmouth turned the ball over at a ruck near the Bideford 22 and, following a few quick rucks, Aaron Down broke free and scuttled over the line; Squance missed the conversion, but the try had clearly deflated the belief of those supporting Bideford.

The final five minutes of the game saw Sidmouth continue their expansive offloading style of play which had worked well throughout; unfortunately, on this occasion the gaps in the tired Bideford defence couldn’t be exploited fully.

That proved to be the final score of the game with Sidmouth winning 29-10. They were good value for their victory. An excellent first half display of clinical attacking was backed up with an equally solid defensive effort; Bideford by their own admission had to work extremely hard for their 10 points which is a credit to the Sidmouth defence.

There are a few minor points regarding decision-making, including when to run from deep, which will need addressing, especially when against stronger and fitter opposition, but in general Sidmouth should be very proud of their performance.