Darren Wills was re-elected captain for the 2005-06 season but his starts were restricted and the role was often fulfilled on-field by others such as John Pitt, Stuart Quarterman and Jason Burdett. Phil Morgan had taken over the Chairmanship of the club from Paul Venkort. There were new shirt sponsors, in the shape of The Lopes Arms, who under landlord Will Lord had developed good links with the club.
For the Chiefs there was certainly an improvement from the previous season’s whitewash although the position was only improved by one to 9th; North Tawton propping everyone up this time. It was the two Saracens, Tamar and Exeter, who topped the Devon 2 Table in a division that was more competitive than the previous term.
At the behest of Argaum’s senior players, the ‘no-nonsense’ Steve Sayles was once again drafted in to sort out the two most pressing problems, defence and fitness. The results were evident as The Chiefs conceded less than half the previous season’s total and only once conceded more than 50, at Exeter Saracens. Elsewhere they were reasonably competitive, without winning many matches. Tries from impressive centre Ben Davenport, Matt Blakeston and Darren Wills eased the Chiefs to a 20-6 win over St Columba Torpoint at the end of September, but it was to be almost Christmas by the time the second league win was notched up, 12-3 win at North Tawton. Whilst the defence was shored up, scoring was still a problem, but the boot of winger/full back Jamie Stormont kept the scoreboard ticking over as Chiefs chose to take kick-able penalties when available.
After Christmas, a new coach, Naval Officer Mark Sullivan, came in to build on Sayles’ foundations with a more analytical approach that brought the best out of the squad. Old Techs were held to a single score in February, old-boy’s Paul Tottman the visitors scorer in a line-up which included future Argaum players Jamie Venner and Gareth Chilcott (Tottman had also scored in the first match back in October). Tries from Quarterman, Brewer and Stormont saw the double completed over Torpoint and the following week Topsham were also held to a single score (14-21) at Bickleigh Down. The marked improvement continued as the champions Tamar Saracens had to work very hard for their 11-0 win at Parkway and therefore the visit of North Tawton for the final fixture should have been a way to finish off the season with a flourish. However, with a mini-festival featuring junior tourists Dings Crusaders and a pitch-side marquee and gazebo in place, the opponents rang up late to say they wouldn’t be coming. The walkover was little consolation for a club that prided itself on fulfilling fixtures no matter how hard the situation is; incidentally Chiefs had made the trip to Taw meadow twice that season as the first league fixture was abandoned due to an injured ref.
A pragmatic decision was made to take advantage of The Combination’s rule dispensation and enter The Chiefs into The Ellis Cup. Tamar Saracens prevailed (28-7) and so the club ‘progressed’ into the Pedrick Cup. The nature of the competition, and its reliance on the main cup, means that there is sometimes a late flurry of activity to get the ties completed in time, however this season’s events took that to a new level. The exact circumstances are unclear but somehow Argaum had a home semi-final tie with OPM to be played on the Tuesday, the night before the final! Due to travel concerns and the kick-off time the tie was played at OPM’s ground Elburton and on a damp spring evening finished with the scores tied at 18 apiece. Without a rule-book to hand, frantic phone calls were made by the coaches and referee through to the Combination Executive to see what should happen next and whether extra time should be played. The answer came back which was the away side progresses which was in this case OPM, even though they were playing at home! The Jesters had enough energy the following night to prevail (5-3) in the final against OPO II at The Rectory.
The Boxing Day match against OPM was also a draw (24-24) whilst the senior tour involved a revisit to Gloucester.
It was another busy season on the junior front with regular teams operating at six age-groups. One surprise was the emergence of an Under 15s side in the Autumn when an influx of players from Combe Dean School made the age-group viable. It was a talented bunch of players who also had their own fledgling rock group, Boomslang, who played (rather loudly) at the club presentation evening.
The outstanding age-group were the Under 13s, with Phil Johns and Dave Sansom as coaches, who went on a superb run of results. This included a home win over the much-vaunted Ivybridge side, featuring one Henry Slade, which alongside increased representation at West Devon U13s and U14s, started to put the club firmly on the map.
The promising Under 14s were knocked out of the Devon Cup at the quarter final stage but the Under 13s progressed to the semi final to play Exmouth, unbeaten for a couple of seasons. The tie was played at Bickleigh Down on the first team pitch, whilst on the adjoining pitch the Under 15s entertained Okehampton in the Plate Semi-final. Neither side were able to progress to the final stage but it was testament to how far the section had come in a short time. The Under 13s finished the season with the section’s first junior tour, to Bude.
Unfortunately, there is (currently) no record of the awards made at the club end of season Dinner and Dance, but it is known that Matt Blakeston was nominated as skipper for 2006-07.
