Bude Rugby Club Friendly

Bude RFC XV 48

Bude President’s XV 24

BUDE RFC celebrated Christmas with an entertaining and hard fought traditional Boxing Day match against a President’s select team that included a number of once familiar faces.

Among the assembled stars was Dave Risdon who trundled around the pitch slightly less quickly than in days gone by.

Club chairman Paul Cholwill dusted off his boots to add a touch of experience, alongside while Rollo McGrath.

Ben Tressider and Brixham’s Billy Roberts made valuable contributions to the game until Ben’s weary legs finally got the better of him.

James Button, home on holiday from Australia, showed some nice touches although his choice of rugby shorts caused some concern to the large crowd while veteran Derek Hart reminded all of his power in the tackle. There was even a try scoring appearance from a travelling Kiwi carpenter.

Bude took an early lead and then went on to establish what looked like a comfortable 24-5 half-time advantage with Dan Pearce and Jay Innis amongst the try scorers. The President’s only reply came from the flying Kyle Speare.

The President’s XV then mounted a determined fightback to pull themselves within five points only for Bude to gather themselves and once more pull away with a three try burst. Prominent in this resurgence was Pearce who once again proved himself to be Bude’s most effective attacking weapon.

With the score at 48-19, fittingly the President’s XV had the final word when Roberts burst through the Bude defence to score a fine individual try.

As usual this entertaining game was only the prologue to the afternoon’s social assembly in the packed to the rafters clubhouse. Bill Kneebone’s notorious pungent punch flowed freely and the Christmas spirit was evident well into the evening.

The serious business of league rugby begins again on Saturday (January 7) with an away fixture against Torquay Athletic. If Bude are to retain their Western Counties League status it is imperative that their away form shows a vast improvement.