Barnstaple RFC of the sell-out crowd experienced against local rivals Bideford Rugby Football Club in the 2016 festive fixture between the two sides. Cecil Pritchard - capped 8 times by Wales in the 1920s. Played part of his career at Barnstaple and Torquay Athletic when he moved to the south-west from his home country. Died in 1966. Barnstaple RFC Barnstaple Rugby Football Club was established in 1877 and is a rugby union club based in Barnstaple, Devon. The club's first team play in South West Premier, the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following relegation from National League 2
Barnstaple Bay. The name is first recorded in the 10th century and is believed to derive from the Old English "bearde", meaning "battle-axe", and "stapol", meaning "pillar", referring to a post or pillar set up to mark a religious or administrative meeting place. The belief that the name derives from "staple" meaning "market", indicating that there was a market here from the foundation of the settlement, is incorrect, because the use of "staple" in that sense is not recorded in England before 1423. Barnstaple was formerly referred to as "Barum", from a contraction of the Latin form of the name (ad