Last weeks cry-off meant that the Devon Cup game against North Tawton had to be postponed again this week. The rearrangement wasn't ideal for Argaum as a large contingent were away watching the International. With 5 front-row players unavailable and another 4 players unavailable for family reasons, the squad stood up and showed the depth we have at Argaum. To have 9 first team players unavailable and come away with the bonus point is a testament to the squad as a whole.

The game started scrappily in perfect conditions at the creek. The sun was shining and other than a couple of puddles on the home sides 22, the pitch was good. A spirited start from the Old Boys saw them go 7-0 up after just 4 minutes, when a diagonal kick caught the usually dependable Jake Turfrey napping and the Devonport wing touched down in the corner. A good conversion followed.

The two big questions of the day were how would re-shuffled pack fare at the set pieces and would the new midfield pairing of Jared Williams and Isaac Honey stand firm? The answer to both proved to be yes. With Mike McCormick, Mark Handley and Rob Taylor coming into the squad, it wasn't long before the set pieces settled down and Argaum were winning good ball.

It was after 22 minutes when an ever more dangerous looking Argaum back line created their overlap and Kal Bloomfield backed his gas and converted from 25 yards out. Minutes later, with Jared Williams starting to pull the strings from an unfamiliar role at twelve, Bloomfield went over again for a carbon copy of his first try. From here, the Chiefs started to dominate but DHSOB regrouped and stifled their defence. Tom Richards went for the posts with the last kick of the half to put the visitors more than a score ahead at the break. 15-7 to Argaum.

The second half started with a flurry. Turfrey broke through after just two minutes to make amends for his earlier error. A typically strong entry to the line saw the hosts' centres grasping at air. Moments later, after winning the restart Williams went over again, finding a gap from ten yards out and running in under the posts. Richards converted and suddenly, the score was 27-7.

The Argaum forwards were by now playing good flowing rugby, retaining and recycling the ball like any other Saturday. Mark O'Kane, making his third Argaum debut put in a solid performance and Mike McCormick hitting contact hard, the absentees were hardly missed. As the game opened up, the forwards had more ball to run with. Strong running in open play, particularly by Kevin Sidebottom stretched the game, but the final pass was often missing. Bloomfield, after a great run, passed on to a hapless Iuean Evans who dropped the ball with no one to beat. Sidebottom's possession finally came to fruition with arguably the score of the day. From well inside his own half, a snaking run, saw him beat most of the DHS team. With five meters to go, and two defenders left to beat, he opted the safer choice to power through the defence. The alternative would be passing to Evans. The end of a well tempered game saw Richards slotting another penalty and with five minutes to go, the old boys scrum half was binned for rucking an Argaum head.

A hard contest, enjoyed by all. Next week, home to Ilfracombe.