THE Cornish All Blacks fell to their third consecutive away defeat in South West One (West) last Saturday as they slipped to a 20-0 defeat at Bideford.

The All Blacks conceded a try in the first minute through number eight Will Copp and went in at the break 10-0 behind, despite a spirited second-half, which saw Chris McDonald and Dan Pearce impress, centre Rob Elliot strode through for a score, which converted by Chris Snell to put the North Devon side 17-0 up.

A further Snell penalty shut off any hopes of a comeback as Bideford eased to their first win in six games, while the All Blacks made it back-to-back derby defeats having also lost at Okehampton recently.

After thrashing Teignmouth 60-3 at Polson Bridge last weekend, Jimmy Tucker’s men went into the game full of confidence but weren’t help by the absences of prop Andy Knight and scrum-half Tom Sandercock who were both unavailable altogether.

Rory Cinnamond came in at tight-head prop for Knight while utility back Shaun Crawford was called up on Thursday night after Sandercock’s initial replacement, Dom Mulberry, was forced to pull out with a hamstring problem.

The rest of the starting 15 was unchanged but they paid the price for a slow start as Copp scored within 60 seconds as he picked the ball off the back of a scrum and burrowed his way over.

Full-back Chris Snell added the extras and Bideford were up and running.

Despite five consecutive defeats, Bideford were clearly up for the fight and their massive pack caused Launceston plenty of problems as their significant weight advantage meant the visitors were under extreme pressure at every set piece.

Their cause was made even more difficult when their most experienced front rower, Rikki Bentham went off injured after just 20 minutes, forcing Ben Collins, who usually plays as a hooker to slot in at tight-head with Cinnamond moving across to loose-head.

Not only that, whenever the All Blacks did look to mount an attack, their defence swarmed all over them, ensuring their try line never came under serious threat.

Before the break, Snell slotted over a penalty after more good work from the forwards as they went in 10-0 ahead.

The second-half was more of the same, and although Pearce made a number of darting runs from deep, Bideford continued to ensure that space was at a premium.

The All Blacks knew they needed the next score in such a tight game, but it was the Red and Whites who extended their lead as Elliot found a gap in the All Blacks midfield to run in their second try. Snell again converted.

In a bid to freshen things up, Glenn Coles was sent on for his first team debut at inside-centre and although he showed glimpses of his talent, the visitors couldn’t find a way through.

In the end, a Snell penalty made it 20-0, and that’s how it stayed as they picked up their first victory in six games and left Launceston licking their wounds back to Polson.

Despite the defeat, the All Blacks remain third in the table with 25 points from eight games although just six points separate them from Bideford who are down in tenth.

Skipper Lloyd Duke admitted that despite the home side’s lowly league position, they were the ‘most complete’ team they’d faced this season.

Duke said: “They were without doubt the best team we’ve played this year. You could tell how up for it they were, and although we were a couple of players short, they were better than us on the day.

“They put our scrum under a lot of pressure and if your set piece doesn’t go well you’ll struggle.

“They were very good across the board and made us look very ordinary.

“We struggled to mount an attack as they got in our face really well and were the most complete side we’ve faced.”

Duke was also disappointed by yet another poor start to their away games as they conceded a try in the first minute.

He said: “We spoke before the game about making sure we got the first score nice and early but a loose kick and chase from us gave them the ball and they ended up scoring.

“Saying that, the most frustrating thing is that we were in control in the middle third of the pitch but once we got near their try line they swarmed all over us. We certainly learned a lot of lessons. Bideford gave us a lesson of how to play physical rugby.”

Despite being 10-0 down at half-time, Duke said that at half-time they knew they were still in the game but just couldn’t get anything going in the second-half.

He said: “At half-time we were still confident despite being thoroughly outplayed in the first-half. But they just never died off. We couldn’t mount an attack of worth.

“We missed a couple of penalties but I don’t think it would have made much difference. Their defence was outstanding and we almost ran out of ideas, we weren’t sure how to puncture them.”

While Bideford’s defence was impeccable, it was perhaps their domination of the scrum, which was most telling. Duke admits that that they need to address the issue quickly.

He said: “In fairness their pack was big right from one to eight, but for whatever reason our scrum hasn’t clicked that well this season. If your set piece struggles it’s always hard work and they got plenty of penalties, etc, off us.

“It can be quite demoralising if they’re winning penalties off your set piece as they can just kick the ball 50-yards into touch and you’re back in trouble.

“However, we’re certainly working on it in training. In every league there are always clever props and although we’ve got quite a light pack, we need to ensure it becomes as good as it can be.”

Successive defeats at two of their biggest rivals in the division (Bideford and Okehampton) have ensured that the All Blacks’ fans haven’t had much to shout about on their travels, and Duke admits that they need to ensure they’re 100% at it against teams who are desperate to beat them.

He said: “Our last two away games have been derbies and they’ll play better against us than most teams.

“They’ll be our two hardest away games. At Newent we very poor but the last two games they’ve been right up for it.

“Saying that, Jimmy (Tucker) has been trying to instill an attitude into the squad where every game is massive, regardless of whether we’re at home in front of 500 people or hardly anyone at some grounds.

“I’d say that they’ve been up for it more than us and we need to make sure we get that right.”

The All Blacks are back at Polson Bridge on Saturday when they entertain Bridgwater and Albion, who are in mid-table having won four and lost four of their eight fixtures.

Duke is hoping that they go back to basics and repeat their Teignmouth performance.

He said: “We’ve got to get back get back to basics and keep it simple. Against Bideford we decided to play a bit wider because of their pack but it might be good to get back to doing the simple things and build from there.”