BUDE threw away a 14-point advantage in the second-half as Honiton completed a league double on Sponsors’ Day at Bencoolen Meadow.

Despite being under cosh for long periods of the game, Bude led 10-3 at half-time thanks to tries from player/coach Angus Hodges and prop Simon Jeffery.

And when second-row Matt Williams crashed over on 61 minutes it looked as if the North Cornwall outfit would preserve their record of just losing once at home all season.

However converted tries from Dom Hawke and Will Goulden brought the scores level, and on 78 minutes the East Devon side were awarded a penalty, which Ollie Cave slotted home from 20 metres.

A late chance involving Olly Denford was passed up for Bude as they remain fifth in the table while Honiton, who are one place above them, are 14 points ahead.

The home side had romped to victory at Hayle in their last game despite playing with 14 men for over half of the encounter and without regular scrum-half Olly Mounce, who was suspended, regular back-rower James Comber was pressed into an emergency scrum-half role.

Despite the change, it didn’t seem to matter, as Bude stormed into a 5-0 lead inside four minutes.

A series of pick and gos allowed them to get to within ten metres of the Honiton line before Hodges used number eight Joe Wilson to push him past the first defender before outpacing the full-back to cross for the first try.

Honiton were clearly up for the contest as much as Bude and spent the majority of the opening 40 minutes in the home side’s half. However they were repelled time and time again by some excellent defence, although Cave did slot over a penalty.

The home side’s forwards looked dangerous when they got the chance to stretch their legs and it was again another move upfront that led to the game’s second try.

From a lineout, a maul took them into the Honiton 22 before Hodges broke off the back of it before being tackled five metres out. More pick and gos resulted in Jeffery barging his over from close range and Bude had a ten-point lead.

With more than 15 minutes of the first-half remaining, Bude knew they needed to shut up shop and it took a brilliant last-ditch tackle into touch to stop right-winger Will Tyers from reducing the arrears.

The home side did survive until the break although it wasn’t long before the referee was at the centre of the controversy as Honiton number eight Harry Wright touched down but the try wasn’t awarded as the referee was unsighted.

The visitors’ sense of injustice at the decision would only have grown further on the hour as Williams crashed over from a few metres out after a nice pass from Jason Bolt. This time full-back Olly Denford converted and at that stage it looked as if there would only be one winner.

With just 18 minutes on the clock by the time the game restarted, Honiton decided to throw caution to the wind and it was soon 18-10 as a great run from outside-centre Olly Hyland allowed his midfield partner Dom Hawke to run through a gap unchallenged to score.

The game was being played in the Bude 22; and with the home side tiring due to the relentless pressure, it was no surprise that the scores were level on 73 minutes as skipper Will Goulden ran over the top of a ruck to score. Cave kicked the easiest of conversions and it was all square.

From the restart, Bude booted it deep into the Honiton 22 but a sensational break from openside-flanker Josh Rice ended up with him being tackled on the Bude 10-metre line, albeit illegally.

Goulden, to the surprise of some, opted to go for the posts, but Cave who was aiming for his 20th successful kick in a row, stepped up and won them the game.

Bude were left even more disgusted with themselves by the end as a clean break involving Hodges and Ed Hilliam-Cooke allowed Denford a two-on-one against the full-back with winger Zerran Hammond in support. However Denford failed to get past his man and knocked the ball on.

Honiton soon booted the ball into touch as the packed crowd were left shocked at what they had just seen.

After the game, Hodges admitted that although the defeat was tough to take, it was probably a fair result.

He said:?“In the end it was kind of inevitable. At half-time we said that if we have to do as much defending in the second-half as we did in the first then then it’d be a struggle and that’s what happened. To be fair to them they kept the ball well and eventually we just caved in. It comes down to the retention of the ball and we were unable to keep it for long enough.

“We certainly weren’t cheated out of the game and in the end it was a deserved loss as we didn’t front up for the full 80 and they punished us.”

Hodges admitted that fatigue was a problem but was pleased with aspects of the performance.

He said:?“We’ve done it before where we’ve made a bad decision in the last few minutes and it’s down to a lack of fitness and going off the boil when we have a decent lead. Maybe we thought that a 14-point lead was enough. That being said, we did alright in the first-half. Our defence was very good and our penalty count down which was brilliant. Overall it was a pretty positive performance, but with a negative outcome.”

Bude are in action next Saturday when they travel to mid-table Lanner (2.30pm).