Barnstaple sting Hornets at death

By JACK GADD

Hornets…………………22 

Barnstaple…………..23

HORNETS welcomed Barnstaple to the Nest for the first time in a number of years and will feel it was one that got away as they went down by a single point in a game that went to the wire.

Barnstaple took an early lead after a penalty by Jake Murphy that was cancelled out by Jamie Elswood.

Hornets ran in a try by Charlie Carter that went unconverted, but Barnstaple hit back with a converted try by Thomas Clark.

Murphy then slotted over a late penalty to give the visitors a 13-8 lead at half-time.

Hornets, from Weston-super-Mare, started the second period well with two penalties from Elswood.

Carter’s second try put Hornets in control, but a score from Jonathan Kelly that was converted by Murphy put Barnstaple back in the driving seat, but only by a point.

Elswood looked to have won the game when he edged Hornets two points clear with just four minutes left on the clock with a penalty.

There was still time, though, for Murphy to snatch victory with a last-gasp penalty to help Barnstaple claim the spoils by a single point, which meant the 70-mile drive back home was ultimately a happy journey.