Minehead Barbarians head coach Andrew Stevens says he’s very happy with the way the season has panned out so far for his side, writes Will Topps.

Minehead lost last week at home to Chard, effectively ending their chances of promotion, but they bounced back to beat Winscombe this week and Stevens says promotion was never their aim in any case.

Stevens said: “We set out our stall at the start of the season when we said this was a season in which we wanted to consolidate our position and re-group as a club.

“We’ve certainly achieved that and have been playing some terrific rugby along the way.”

Minehead were in the title race up until the bitter cold snap of winter in December and remain one of only two teams to have stopped league leaders Weston Hornets from winning when they drew with them at Davey Field.

Minehead also drew with second placed Chard and have proved they can live with the title contenders - a promising sign for next year.

Stevens told the Gazette: “The game with Chard last week was a terrific match. It was really entertaining, there was great rugby on show and the crowd all enjoyed it massively.”

Minehead also have a number of promising players rising through the ranks, chief among whom is utility back Jack Claydon, who scored four tries against Winscombe on Saturday.

Stevens said: “Jack’s a great player and if we can hang on to him for another year I’d be very pleased. He’s capable of playing at a higher level in future. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done with Jack and I hope I get to spend more time with him, as there are going to be other sides taking notice of his try tally.”

On Saturday Minehead travel to Chew Valley and Stevens is keen for Minehead to continue winning: “Our aim now is to keep playing well, keep winning and finish as high as we can. We’ve still got to go to Hornets as well, and we’d love to be the first team to take their scalp. We certainly won’t be making up the numbers when we head there anyway.”