BUDE player/coach Angus Hodges believes ‘the ball is in our court’ when he takes his side to Exeter Athletic in the Cornwall/Devon League on Saturday.

The Bencoolen Meadow have been in good form in recent weeks, winning at second-placed Paignton before backing it up with a seven-try home success over fourth-placed Pirates Amateurs 12 days ago.

However Storm Dennis was the winner last weekend as their trip to third-placed Plymstock Albion Oaks was postponed.

Hodges said: “The Plymstock game was called off on Saturday morning due to a waterlogged pitch. They had provisionally called it off the night before, but had to wait until the morning to call it off due to RFU regulations. It wasn’t surprising with the amount of rain we’d had.

“It was a bit of a shame for us as Plymstock like to run around quite a lot, and we don’t quite so much, so the conditions would have probably suited us more than them, but there’s nothing much we could do. But all our weekends now until the end of the season are full, so hopefully we can continue from where we left off in recent weeks at Exeter.

“I’d like to say the week off won’t have ruined our momentum which we’re building as a team, so that’s our main focus, to be able to go to another away game and put another good performance in and stamp home our continuity and consistency, which we’re always looking to keep progressing.”

Exeter have won just three times since promotion and have 16 points from 15 games. They are 12 points behind Tavistock, and unless they can find a remarkable turnaround in form, look set for an instant return to Devon One.

Hodges said: “The ball is in our court really. I don’t think they’ll bring anything too threatening, and if we’re on our game I’m pretty sure we’ll be able to deal with it.”

Hodges believes it takes time to get used to a league which sees teams from North and East Devon all the way down to Penzance-based Pirates Amateurs.

He said: “There are a lot of diverse teams in the league, so finding your feet as a new team, can take a bit of time. Knowing teams can be a big advantage. We don’t do anything particularly different from team to team, but we know if we’re playing the likes of Truro and Topsham, they get it wide as much as possible, while Lanner and South Molton like to go right through the middle. It helps the boys knowing what type of game to expect.

“But now Exeter have had time to find their feet in the league and know what to expect, we’ll have to be a bit more cautious and make sure we’re on our game.”

The contest is one of three in the division on Saturday. Bude are fifth, only behind Pirates Amateurs on points difference and with two games in-hand.

They are seven points behind Plymstock with a game in-hand and still have their fixture to rearrange, meaning a second consecutive third-placed finish is very much a possibility.

Although, Hodges isn’t making any bold predictions.

He said: “I’d like to think we’ll have a fairly similar side to what we’ve had in the last couple of weeks and that we can carry on from where we left off. From past experience we know that we do well with momentum, so hopefully injury and form permitting, I see no reason why we can’t end the season on a real high.”

Elsewhere at the weekend, mid-table Bude Women are scheduled to travel to East Devon to tackle Withycombe (2.30pm) in Women’s NC 2 South West (West).