Royal Wootton Bassett's hopes of making it three wins on the bounce were dashed by a ruthless Barnstaple side.
The side traveled to North Devon on Saturday hoping to make it three wins in a row after comfortably beating St Austell and Launceston in recent weeks.
But they were immediately put under pressure by Barnstaple, and after holding firm for ten minutes, a sequence of phases allowed the hosts to put the ball out wide and open the scoring.
The conversion was scored, giving the 'Barum' a 7-0 lead.
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However, this sparked Royal Wootton Bassett into life and scrum-half Rhys Floyd successfully scored a penalty after a Barnstaple forward came in from the side of a maul.
An attack from the Wiltshire side in their own half saw Sam Baker pass to Matt Huggins, who was playing his first match of the season, and he went on an amazing run down the right wing, evading a number of challenges before scoring a remarkable try.
This gave them an 8-7 lead, but Barnstaple immediately turned the match around and dominated the remainder of the half, adding three more tries.
Royal Wootton Bassett had a mountain to climb and an early try threatened to open the floodgates.
But this wasn't to be the case, as the side defended well, even managing to have a couple of opportunities at the other end.
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Agonisingly, Barnstaple added another try right at the end of the match to confirm their comfortable victory.
A spokesperson for the club said: "Barnstaple were clear winners and now look favourites for the one promotion place on offer.
"Bassett will console themselves with a spirited second-half performance and successful debuts for youngsters Tim Pitman and Ollie Roberts.
"After a rest week, Bassett will next host second-placed Brixham in another tough encounter."
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