A thrilling clash against Redruth ended with Barnstaple celebrating maximum points from their first two games of the National League Two South season.Jake Murphy, who was outstanding at fly-half, created a try for Barum skipper Winston James in the final play which snatched a 29-24 victory for the hosts in front of a big Pottington Road crowd which roared its approval.It was a well-deserved win for Barnstaple who had produced their best performance as a National Two side.
With their confidence boosted by a bonus-point win at Wimbledon on the opening day and a strong, gusting wind in their favour, they dominated the first half against a team who had scored almost 100 points against them in two crushing defeats last term.Jordan Petherbridge kicked an early penalty before leaving the field injured, but with his replacement at scrum-half, James Bath, and Murphy linking up superbly, Barnstaple built a 17-0 lead.Held up over the try line from a catch and drive, Barum pressed again from the resulting scrum and new No 8 Gareth Evans crossed from close range.A thrilling break from their own half, with winger Jack Bond showing his pace, brought the first of three yellow cards for Redruth when Sam Parsons felled Will Topps with a high tackle.Rob Coote went to the sin bin for a deliberate knock on after half an hour and it was while he was off the field that Barnstaple swept from right to left where Murphy’s long pass put Kyle Speare over for a try.
Redruth had barely had a touch of the ball, but they set up a comeback with a try on the stroke of half-time. They opted for a scrum after being awarded a penalty close to the line and were able to force prop Ethan Pattison over to make it 17-7 at the break.With replacement front-rower Tipiloma Kivalu carrying strongly, the Cornishmen took control in the third quarter of the game.By the eighth minute of the second half, they had levelled the scores with fly-half Joe Elderkin kicking a penalty and converting well after Kyle Marriott’s pushover try from a five-metre scrum.When prop Craig Williams went over after a series of pick-and-goes for Redruth’s third try and a 24-17 lead, it looked ominous for Barnstaple – with thoughts inevitably turning to last season’s results. But, with Murphy at the heart of their attacking moves, Barum hit back and scored twice in the last five minutes.Evans crossed for his second try from a catch and drive, then Murphy twice made line breaks as his side went from one end of the field to the other. Slipping the final tackle, the fly-half popped a pass for James to finish under the posts.
By Andrew Jones
