BUDE player/coach, Angus Hodges, believes his side are ready as they prepare for their biggest game of the season on Saturday when they travel to league leaders Penryn in the Tribute Cornwall and Devon League.

While both clubs weren’t in action last Saturday due to a rest weekend, the week before saw the title race take a dramatic swing.

While Bude were easing to a 36-13 victory over Liskeard-Looe at Bencoolen Meadow, Penryn made the long trip to East Devon to Honiton and came away 28-20 winners which meant they knocked Honiton off top spot and down to third with Bude moving up to second.

As things stand with all three having six games remaining, Penryn are four points clear of the North Cornwall outfit with Honiton two points further back, meaning that the winners of Saturday’s clash at the Memorial Ground have one hand on the league title.

Hodges knows the significance of the game and has been impressed by his players’ attitude to training.

He said: “Realistically we know that they (Penryn) are good at controlling the game and are good defensively, so to try and sort of combat that, we need to be efficient in our structure and even late in the game when people are tired we need to be able to back the structure to break them down instead of us crumbling. So a lot of our training has been working on the structure, particularly in attack and making sure we’re attacking in the right areas of the pitch at the same time.

With many of Bude’s squad having jobs which make training regularly difficult, Hodges has been delighted with their application ahead of Saturday.

He said: “We’ve upped training a lot which is good. The boys recognise the emphasis of this game and how dramatically it’ll impact the top three spots in the league. If anything, having these two weeks has helped us build up to it because ever since our last game, the focus has been solely on this.”

Bude know that a five-point victory with Penryn getting no bonus points would put them top, and Hodges is delighted they are not relying on others.

He said: “It’s in our hands which is a nice place to be. If things go wrong then we can only blame ourselves which is good and is helping the boys really fire up for it.”

Come 4.30pm on Saturday, the fixtures between the top three will have been completed but Hodges knows that shock results are always a possibility.

He said: “We’re taking this as the last clash between the top three, but there’s been a fair few upsets this season and plenty more close shaves, so nothing is guaranteed.

“All three of us have had close shaves, although Penryn have been slightly more in control, so we’re all going to make sure we try to finish the season on a high.”

While Honiton are in your face and come at you, Hodges believes Penryn’s style is different.

He said: “They don’t come with the same intensity or aggression as Honiton do but they’re definitely more of a level-headed and controlling team so it takes a lot to break them down. We’re going to have to be really consistent and intense right from the off. If we can get under their skin a bit and get an early score, hopefully we can break them down.”

Such is the interest in the game in the town, Bude have organised a bus for the players and supporters to the Cornish coast.

He said: “We always end up having a fair few supporters at away games due to the fantastic supporters we have. But I think it’s really nice we have that option and it’ll fire the boys up a bit. It’ll help focus us a bit earlier and we usually do well under pressure.”

One man who won’t be on the bus is Timmy Green who is unavailable while fly-half Steve Yates is doubtful.

However, Hodges is hoping to recall a familiar face.

He said: “Steve Yates is 50/50 at the moment but fingers crossed he’ll be alright but we should have Kyle Speare back. He’s had an ongoing knee issue but is looking in reasonable shape now and hopefully can get through 80 minutes!”

If you would like to go to Penryn, search ‘Bude Rugby Club’ on Facebook and speak to one of the club officials.