Ceri Critten, a long serving, fast moving wing three quarter, even prepared to step into the Scrum Half’s shoes if required, was elected Captain, but unhappily suffered a serious injury midway through the first half of the season, which kept him out of action until the following season, so that Dave Sharp took over.
The first match saw the Club put up a spirited performance, before going down 9-14 and after a narrow defeat (13-15) by Devonport Services A, moved onto a run of 5 wins and a draw – this 6-6 home to Newquay Hornets – with 122pts to 22. One of these games, at Salcombe, “where on their first visit for many years encountered some spirited opposition … from a section of the crowd …”. This did not seem to perturb the Argaum side, who won by 31-0, of which winger Nick Hall (which started him on a purple patch) contributed 11 points. He next scored 16 of the 26 against South Molton and 17 out of the 33 against the College of St Mark and St John.
Thereafter followed a mixed bag of results, including a 4-0 defeat in the Devon Cup at the hands of Ivybridge, the latter intelligently playing 10-man rugby in windy conditions, whilst Salcombe very comfortably disposed of any Havill Plate ambitions.
Touring sides Kidderminster and Old Brockleians both won their closely contested games and the Club ended the season W16, L18, D1, 439-474, somewhat disappointing after a bright start. The Wanderers W14, D1, L15. Of the Colts side, Roger Bailey played for Devon Colts and Devon U21 and in conjunction with Andy Davey, appeared for the 1st XV.
Additional Notes (R.Belli): Ceri Critten was the skipper for the 1979-80 season, although the recurrence of an elbow injury midway through the season meant that on-field duties were handed to Dave Sharp, Ceri taking up the role of 1st XV Manager. The Wanderers’ elected captain Mike Worth found himself promoted to the 1st XV, so Ian Hassall and Mike Pearce deputised. Both senior sides had even returns on their 30 plus fixtures. The Chiefs’ county cup ambitions were extinguished early at the hands of Ivybridge (denying them another crack at Exeter University) and then Salcombe in The Havill Plate. Aside from that there were some excellent displays against Devonport Services A, Plymouth Albion Extras, Newquay Hornets and, new on the fixture list, Honiton. Nick Hall and Brian Willcocks featured heavily in the scoring. Several players became fathers during the season including Ceri Critten, Howell Phillips, Steve Body and Iam Ramsay, affecting availability on occasions. The Colts, under skipper Andy Davey, had another good season but couldn’t repeat the cup exploits of the previous term. They were knocked out at the quarter final stage by Albion Juniors after beating Paignton away in an earlier round. ‘Colt of The Year’ Roger Bailey represented Devon Colts and Devon U21 as well as getting a call up to the 1st XV along with Davey towards the end of the season. The club entered 2 senior teams and 1 colts team into The Combination Sevens, all performed well with one senior side reaching The Plate Final. An over and under 30 match was instigated before the players supper with the youngsters winning. The season was tinged with sadness. Prior to the season the club learned that former colt Stephen Marshall had been killed in a motorbike accident. Tragedy struck again early in the season when another young Argaum player, Kevin Glover, was killed in a car crash. The committee were also occupied with more mundane matters with the perennial issues of the boiler, clubhouse roof and training lights. Additional work was required when the apparently over-exuberant Roborough Young Farmers broke the bar grill at one of their functions. Obtaining recompense proved to be a long-running issue. At the AGM, Tom Hitchins was voted President, taking over from George Cross whilst annual subs were raised to £7-50. Mike Worth received the Captain’s Trophy, Ian Ramsay the Effort Award and Pete Gamblen The Bob Stone Memorial Trophy. A 2nd XV Special award was presented to Steve Neville.
