Okehampton U14s 24 Tavistock U14s 12 TAVISTOCK started well with their centre breaking through some half-hearted tackles in the midfield and scoring a try under the posts. The Okehampton pack found their rhythm and managed to gain territory into the Tavistock 10 metre area. A knock-on led to a scrum five metres from the Tavistock line. The Okehampton pack with the front row of Hughes, Jones and Abrahams dominant, won the ball. Scrum half Ewen picked up and dashed for the line but held up he fed Johns who scampered over the line to equal the scores. Johns converted his try. The Okehampton dominance up front continued with their forwards gaining huge territorial advantage. The scrums were totally one-sided with locks Brain and Speak providing the power in the engine room. This platform provided the source of the next try. A Tavistock line out was won and then spilled at the half back link. The Okehampton loose forwards, White and Courtier getting amongst the opposition and the influential Hughes powered over for the next try and Johns made a good conversion. The Tavistock backs were running from deep but the defensive midfield of Kirby, Johns and Cooper kept their scoring chances to a minimum. A mix-up in the Tavistock centre was jumped upon by the Okehampton loose forwards and Kirby was there to run through and score under the posts. Johns provided the additional two points. Okehampton 21-5 up at the half time fairly reflected the balance of play. The Okehampton back three of Wilkins, Mitchell and Cornwall continually tackled and then pushed the ball back into the Tavistock half. The second half began a bit messy with mistakes of dropped balls on both sides. An early penalty for Okehampton with Tavistock going over the top at a ruck gave Johns the chance to add three more points. He duly obliged and the match was in the bag for the boys from Okehampton. A consolation try for Tavistock in the late stages was just that.

Okehampton U13s 7 Tavistock U13s 5 THE game was a test of fitness for the forwards as play swayed up and down the pitch as both sides attempted to gain the advantage. The supporting backs were busy collecting the ball and trying to break through Tavistock?s defence. Dean Folland made numerous sorties into Tavistock?s defences only to be stopped short of the line. The Okehampton backs were equally determined in their defence and kept their line clean until the 20th minute when Tavistock scored an unconverted try. The second half followed the pattern of the first with both sides attacking as the opportunity occurred. Okehampton?s front row forwards of Matt Moyes, Dean Abrams and Lee were in the forefront blocking the attack from mauls and rucks and eventually holding Tavistock into their own half for the final quarter. This continual pressure allowed Josh Bush to score a try ably converted by Liam Wilkins with just five minutes to the final whistle. Tavistock increased their pressure but Okehampton?s defences held although there were a few anxious moments.

Okehampton RFC U13s 7 Tavistock RFC U13s 5 IN this annual ?derby? fixture Okehampton fielded a physically bigger and stronger squad and controlled the game to their strengths by keeping play tight and denying the ball to the faster and more mobile Tavistock backs. In the set piece scrums the sides were equally balanced with the result that Tavistock was able to gain some ball and spread it across the field which enabled Jez Massy- Birch to cross the line in the first half from a series of well timed passes. The Tavistock forwards and especially Jack Crozier, Martin Budden, Kris Sprangle and Dominic Dewson handled the constant pressure from the attacking Okehampton pack very effectively with Jonty Newton regularly making ground through forward drives. Much of the game was played in the Tavistock 22 with Okehampton camping on the Tavistock line on several occasions only to be repelled by enthusiastic and strong defence. Tavistock retained its single try lead until the final quarter when Okehampton finally found a gap in the Tavistock defences and scored. Okehampton converted their try to secure the contest. The differing strengths of the opposing teams were played to advantage with Tavistock displaying a new found strength in forwards defence aided by new squad members which will serve them well in future fixtures

North Okes U11s 21 Tavistock U11s 14 IT was an excellent first match for new North Okes boys with Tom, Reese and Sebastian providing strong tackling and backing up. North Okes as usual played well as a team supporting each other and trying to play a flowing game. Defensively both North Okes and Tavistock were keen and not afraid of getting into physical contact situations. For Tavistock William Slater scored two tries. Zach Brinkhurst converted the tries and Alex Ferguson put in a lot of work around the rucks.

l AN exciting start to the season with this tight game between Okehampton U10s and Tavistock U10s which the Oke boys won by four tries to three. Okehampton tries were scored by Brandon Horn, 3, and Reece Peacock.

Mount House U9s made a positive start to their season with four impressive performances at a recent St Peter?s School U9 Rugby Festival. They opened with a lively contest against St Dunstan?s, which they dominated with positive running and aggressive tackling. From the start, the team?s tackling was the most encouraging feature of the afternoon. Tries from Ralph Lopes and Wilf Haddow were the result of good teamwork, and were sufficient to secure a victory by 10 points to nil. Against King?s Hall, Mount House once again used the ball well, scoring two good tries through Max Hayward and Oscar Norris, and keeping their opponents pinned down in their own half for long periods. With no break, Mount House went into the next match against Stover, and got off to a slow start, falling behind to a try. Having evened the score by half time, the same thing happened after the break, and once again Mount House were able to hit back with a try of their own to end the match 10 points each. During their final game against St Michael?s, the boys looked quite tired and had to work hard for another 10-10 draw as they lost their shape in the later stages. This was an excellent start, with some fine tackling, and will give the youngsters great encouragement for the rest of the season.