DEVON’S newly formed Deaf XV defeated the Looseheadz Barbarians 40-48 in a floodlit exhibition match at Teignmouth.

It was the second outing for the Deaf XV, who were narrowly defeated by an Exmouth XV in their first match.

A combination of running rugby, bit hits and plenty of tries kept the crowd entertained from start to finish.

Rugby is keen to deliver the message that it is an inclusive sport, which the game showcased brilliantly.

The Looseheadz Foundation spreads an important message about mental health in rugby and how it needs to be talked about freely and without fear. Their tag line is #TackleTheStigma.

Devon’s new Deaf XV makes rugby accessible to more people with hearing difficulties. Any potential players can find out more about the team by contacting manager Mark Long on 07824 318030.

Totnes RFC were well represented in the match with four players taking part. Jay Hext turned out for the Deaf XV. The Looseheadz XV included Isaac Joiner and father-and-son duo Jay and Dylan Bullock.

ELSEWHERE, a strong second-half performance from Kingsbridge 1st XV proved too much for a spirited St Ives team, who were travelling without many of the regular team, but still managed to make the journey.

Even though short of a few players themselves, Kings were simply too powerful for St Ives. Although leading at half time, St Ives couldn’t match Kings’ ferocious second-half performance, scoring a try bonus point on the way. Even being reduced to 14 men after a sin-binning just on half-time, it didn’t stop the home side from dominating the early part of the second period, scoring 21 unanswered points and eventually winning 40-25.

The first half started with St Ives dominating possession and were soon on the score sheet as their influential fly half calmly dropped a goal to get early points on the board. Kings responded immediately as Baldry cut a fine line to take Newman’s pass and dart over. Newman converting.

Back came St Ives as their fly half cleverly kicked into space for their wing to gather and score out wide and then added the conversion from the touchline.

Kings were now struggling to contain the visitors and not helping themselves as they continued to give away penalty after penalty. It was from one that the St Ives nine tapped and went over, and with the added conversion, they led 7-17. Kings managed to get back into the game after a strong run from Buckle took them deep into the St Ives half.

Quick ball saw Baldry deliver a well-timed pass to Tom Winzer who scored Kings second try. Still giving away too many penalties, Kings were made to pay as St Ives kicked to add another three points to stretch their lead. Kings reduced the deficit when they were over after a scarce penalty in their favour saw Baldry emerge from Kings’ drive to narrow the gap to one point. St Ives were edging the game 19-20 at half-time.

Kingsbridge stormed back into the game as the second half started even though playing the first ten minutes with 14 men.

For once, on the right side of a penalty, Kings went close to the St Ives line where a good lineout-take resulted in Joe Banfield splitting the defence and racing over to keep up his fine recent scoring record. Newman added the extras.

Kings were now playing good heads-up rugby and kept the scoreboard ticking as Winzer chased well, gathered and ran through to score. Newman converted. Giving the St Ives’ defence no respite, Kings attacked from a lineout once more as Vincent took the ball on, getting close before offloading to Merrin to complete a remarkable turnaround, and with Newman adding the extra, put the home side 20 points clear with just 10 minutes to play.

Kings made various substitutions, one of which paired for the first time, Josh and Ben Banner in the second row. Yet another brother combination to play for the club’s first fifteen. Injuries to Baldry, Buckle and Horne saw Kings reorganise, allowing St Ives to take advantage and score a late consolation try to leave the final score 40-25.

KINGSBRIDGE U14s were also in action and then came into their latest fixture against Clifton College on the bounce of a hard-fought game versus Withycombe in the first round of the Devon Cup.

With several players from Plymouth Argaum coming into the team to help bolster the side, Kingsbridge rose to the occasion and dominated the first quarter thanks to the exceptional work of the forwards.

A few lapses in concentration allowed Clifton to score a couple of tries in quick succession. Not to be deterred, Kingsbridge continued to exert their dominance in the forward pack which subsequently resulted in Jude Read scoring their first try from 5 metres out. This instilled a confidence within the team and they pushed for a second in quick succession. Although this did not prevail, the intensity of the game remained the same.

With several changes made at half-time, Kingsbridge wanted to build on their first-half performance.

This allowed a brilliant game of rugby to be observed for the many who came to watch. The large crowd gave Kingsbridge added confidence which saw a number of strong runs being made from the backs, however the Clifton defence remained strong.

Sustained pressure from the home side, resulted in a number of penalties being awarded to Kingsbridge. The option to kick for touch and ignore the initial points on offer was rewarded by a successful driving maul from the forwards once again with Jenson Reid driving over for Kingsbridge’s second try.

The final score certainly did not reflect the team’s overall performance. Every player should be commended for their resilience, work rate and for putting on an excellent display for those spectators who gave up their time to come and support the under 14’s.

LASTLY, Dartmouth 1st XV are definitely up and running in Devon One if their 60-24 home win over Plymouth Argaum is anything to go by.

The Riversiders found the first four games of the season a challenge due to repeated injury issues during matches but have now won two on the trot to move away from the wrong end of the table.

On this occasion, it was Argaum’s turn to suffer from injury issues, although Dartmouth’s top-draw link-up play hurt them as well.

Dartmouth led 29-5 at half-time and continued to notch up the tries in the second session. Jack Gordon, Lewis Sharam, Matt Ford and Kieron Wells had two tries each. Carl Woodgate crossed once, as did Finn Webb for his maiden first-team try. Wells kicked five conversions.

While the rest of Devon One is on a break this Saturday, Dartmouth will have another go at playing their game at Withycombe.

When the sides met back in early September the game was abandoned in the first 15 minutes due to an injury to Dartmouth lock Myles Churchill. He suffered a broken leg.

By the time Churchill was treated on the pitch by paramedics, and ferried to hospital, the game had been stopped for around two hours.