CULLOMPTON suffered another defeat in South West 1 (West) when they were beaten 33-12 at Bideford.

In the first half, the Cullompton tackling was again sound and most of the time contained the dangerous looking Bideford backs although both sides conceded numerous scrums.

Not solely through poor passing and catching but also as a result of tackles aimed at dislodging the ball.

In reply to a Bideford supporter’s complaint that the game had not been allowed to flow, the even-handed Oxford exchange referee Mr Bramley who had kept up with play and was always well placed to see, said that he had allowed advantage at every possible opportunity and thought that the game would have flowed better if players from both sides had not knocked on so much.

Initially the Cullompton scrum seemed to have the measure of Bideford’s despite the home second row looking a little like the cygnets out of Swan Lake as their legs crossed over in their attempts to wheel the set piece at every opportunity.

The balance was altered at the end of the first quarter however when second row and immoveable object, Chris Griffiths, had to go off after being knocked senseless.

And although replaced with the capable Andrew Hayball, the five stone net weight loss to the pack made the outcome of the scrums less predictable.

After finding themselves 28-0 down with 11 minutes to go it was as if Cully drew a deep breath and grabbed their first points.

From a home scrum in the Bideford 22 that was turned over, Cully were awarded a free kick after a premature opposition push at the reset and the tap initiated the visitor’s best spell of possession in the game.

After several phases of play flanker Alex Ford became involved for a second time before full-back Adam Morris – back after a long period of injury and showing sound hands and some nice touches – cashed in on the move with the touch down.

On a last brief visit to the Cully 22, Bideford No8 Dean Folland came off the back of a scrum for another unconverted try and Cullompton’s Garner made a break in the last minute of the match and passed to flanker Sean Mardell who crossed near the posts.

Tomorrow’s opponents at Stafford Park are Bridgwater.