Cometh the hour, cometh the man and that man was Tom Cowan-Dickie whose second-half brace of tries pulled Redruth back from the brink to pick up two very valuable points at Barnstaple.

It crowned a remarkable second-half turn round for the Reds who had, before the break, looked as if they might return from North Devon empty handed.

Encouraged by a large crowd of home supporters Barnstaple dominated the first quarter of the game. From the kick-off they showed they were prepared to spin the ball wide and they spent most of the opening 20 minutes in the Redruth half. Their efforts paid off after 9 minutes when Barnstaple crossed for the first try which was converted.

It was 16 minutes into the game before Redruth made any meaningful incursions into the Barnstaple end of the pitch and Barnstaple with their fast backs, continued to threaten to add to their lead. But strong play from the pack, with No 8 Chris Rovery in fine form, saw Redruth roll over the Barnstaple line after 26 minutes with Nat Dart adding the extras to pull the sides level.

Redruth may look back and question whether, under the barrage of Barnstaple attacks, it might have been better to try and run out of defence rather than kick the ball down the throats of the Barnstaple backs, who were all to ready to gratefully grab it, and run back into the Redruth half.

It seemed almost inevitable that Barnstaple would score again and it was Cameron Grizzle-Johnson who ran in a try following a well-worked moved by the backs, which was converted by Jake Murphy. Just five minutes later Ryan Lee, who broke Redruth hearts in the earlier encounter this season, who crossed with Murphy adding the extras. The referees whistle went and Redruth supporters were left wondering whether what had been a dominant Barnstaple, would just pile on more points after the break.

H/T Barnstaple 21-7 Redruth

The hopes of Reds fans were not raised when the kick-off to start the second half sailed into touch to allow Barnstaple to start with a scrum on the centre line. The home side again started pounding into the Redruth 22 but they conceded a penalty close to the Reds line and the danger was averted.

It took 12 minutes for the Reds to mount any meaningful attack on the Barnstaple half but it paid off. Pressure on the home defence conceded a penalty and the pack piled in to push Tom Cowan -Dickie over the line for a try converted by Nat Dart which narrowed the gap.

Now it was Redruth who began to dominate as they used their forwards to roll the attack back towards the home line. The Reds were now keeping the ball tight, and beginning to take control in the loose. After further pressure on the Barnstaple line, the pack again mauled over for Tom Cowan-Dickie to emerge with ball in hand.

With the clock ticking down the pressure was now on Nat Dart. He made no mistake and the conversion brought the scores level. The referees whistle went and the Reds celebrated a fine come-back.

F/T Barnstaple 21-21 Redruth.

The result leaves Redruth in 10th place in the league but with a useful 11 point buffer over Exeter University who occupy the play-off place.