A SEVERELY depleted Bude were hammered 83-5 in their first away game back in the Western Counties West ivision at Exeter University.

Described as slick, skilful and in places downright sublime, a rampant Exeter turned on the style, scoring four tries in the first-half before going to town in the second, scoring nine more tries, five of which were converted.

Exeter with a pool of over 260 players to choose from and train three times a week, played some scintillating rugby to keep those in attendance firmly entertained.

Bude were depleted through injury, wedding duties, athletics and the pitch on a different post code to the one on their website.

One player using the postcode published for his sat nav, missed the opening half of the match.

This left the remaining players in uncharted territory with their first away game in the new campaign.

Half-time saw the sides change ends with the score at 28-0 as James McRae, James Rouse (2) and Hugh Campbell went over.

The fact that it was just 28-0 was down to the superb defensive performances of Ollie Denford and skipper Ollie Mounce who put in tackle after tackle as they continued to be sliced apart.

The second-half saw the home side put a spirited Bude side to the sword scoring nine more tries including a hat-trick for Mark Himbury and a brace for Felix Maddison.

The North Cornwall club did manage to get on the scoreboard when James Comber touched down in the corner.

The referees’ assessor praised Bude at the end of the game saying that they never gave in and played the game in the true spirit of rugby.

Bude will look to bounce back on Saturday when they host Torquay on Vice President’s Day.