WIVELISCOMBE beat Barnstaple Seconds 36-7 at home to clinch the championship in Counties One Western West, despite still having one more game to play, write Rogers Bellamy.

Visitors Barnstaple competed well for most of the game but were punished for ill-discipline in the last quarter as Wiveliscombe finished strongly, causing Barnstaple to concede two yellow cards.

Playing down the slope Barnstaple crossed for their only try in the first ten minutes through captain Oliver James, with full back Keyan Maclnerney converting.

Wivey levelled the score with number eight Dan Smythe-Moore finishing off good pressure by the Wivey pack near the visitors try line. Fly half Dan Quick converted.

Possession in the line outs was equally shared but the visitors struggled in the set scrums where Wiveliscombe were dominant, laying the foundation for the eventual victory. A penalty from a scrum infringement was converted by Quick to give Wivey a 10pts 7pts lead.

Barnstaple had several decent driving mauls but failed to put the finishing touch to promising positions. Wivey, on the other hand, began to find holes in the visitors’ defence and crossed for two tries through centre Will Thorne and winger Reece Hale. Quick converted one.

Barnstaple struggled to cover the extra space caused by the yellow cards they conceded and Wiveliscombe took full advantage, crossing for two more tries through center Will Ruell and winger Jack Lee, Quick converted both to give Wivey a comfortable victory.

Post match celebrations were enjoyed by players, spectators and a gathering of sponsors who enjoyed a pre-match lunch organised by Hottie Corner where chairman Garry Sharland thanked them for the essential support and Steven Sharland for his hard work in gaining new avenues of sponsorship.

Wiveliscombes Seconds travelled to Weston Super Mare and gave an excellent performance against the home team, just missing out on a losing bonus point, going down 32-20..