The visitors took an early lead at Lily Hill Park as Steve Perry and Will Topps exchanged passes before the former crossed the whitewash for an unconverted score.

However, Rory Greenslade-Jones’ men hit back quickly as lock Kenny Barry rumbled over for a try after spotting a gap and Owain Davies added the two points to put Bracknell 7-5 ahead. Ryan Brend put Barnstaple back in front with their second try but the hosts then put their foot on the gas to open up a useful and ultimately decisive 18-point lead.

Firstly, sustained pressure allowed Davies to knock over two penalties, and Bracknell then scored their second try courtesy of George Milligan’s wonderful solo effort, which began with a tap penalty close to the half-way line.

Just two minutes later No. 8 Michael Clarke broke off the back of a scrum before popping the ball off to Stuart Mackay who sauntered over the line for a converted score which put the hosts 25-10 to the good.

On a day when Barnstaple were heavily penalised by the referee, Jordan Petherbridge had become the first of five visiting players to be sin-binned, but he returned to the fray to knock over a conversion after Jon Down’s interception try as the first 40 minutes wound down.

The kicker then slotted a penalty on the stroke of half-time, and Bracknell’s momentary lack of concentration meant Barnstaple had the momentum despite trailing 25-20 at the break.

The home side continued to struggle to find their top form in the second half, but two more Davies penalties extended the lead to 31-20, and, in truth, Bracknell never really looked like losing the game against a side who have improved considerably in the past couple of months.

As the Lily Hill men searched for a bonus-point score they conceded one of their own, as Brend knocked the ball out of Davies’ hands during a Bracknell attack, and Berry ran in from his own half to cut the gap to 31-27.

While Barnstaple may have been given hope of snatching an unlikely victory after that try, their ill-discipline had repeatedly come back to haunt them as Kevin Angell, James Starkey, Adam Lloyd and Berry were all sin-binned during the second period, and Bracknell were able to close the game out with relative ease.

A seventh successful kick from Davies was the final score of the game, taking his personal points haul to 19, but Bracknell’s inability to bag a fourth try meant they were only able to claim four points from the contest.

The win means that Rory Greenslade-Jones’ side have still only been beaten once at home all season, a record only bettered by table-toppers Redingensians, who have not lost at their Old Bath Road ground for almost two years. Bracknell remain fourth in the table, sitting just a point behind Brixham and 13 points back from second-placed Exmouth with seven games of the season to go.

The Lily Hill men do not have a game this coming weekend, and return to action when they travel to mid-table Bournemouth on Saturday, February 21 (2.30pm). In the same fixture earlier in the season, Bracknell produced one of their best displays of the campaign to trounce their opponents 65-24.