players who had committed to the cause failed to materialise, in fact they were never to be seen again. Phil had already said he wouldn’t be able to make it, so come the tournament Sharks arrived at Taunton with only nine players. That evening another player who was to become pivotal to the Sharks cause was there just to watch the tournament, that player, one Nev Dellasandro, only played that night to make up the numbers, but his future help bringing players in was to prove invaluable, at forty one years of age, his knowledge, and his willingness to step in when required really helped the Sharks survive that first competitive season.

Anyway, as you can imagine the Sharks were always going to be up against it that night, a 14-0 loss against Somerset Vikings, and a 22-0 loss against tournament favorites Plymouth Titans, meant that a Plate Final against another new side Exeter Centurions, was to be contested, After totally dominating the game the Sharks lost the game 14-10 after a controversial match altering decision by the referee. To be fair to the ref, he did admit to making a mistake after the game. The defeat was another kick in the teeth to the recruitment process, as a win would have given some leverage in the attempts at pulling in players.

The squad that night was:  Daniel Harris, Kevin Smith, Steve Baker, Stu Collier, Nev Dellasandro, Stuart Kingsley, Barry Whittle, Steve Rushden, Lee Kirkman.