Exmouth U12s 21

Okehampton U12s 14

FROM the Exmouth kick off it was clear that this was going to be a battle of the forwards.

It was Exmouth who scored first in the far corner, after some intense rucking and mauling. Okehampton were not to be outdone, against a larger pack — some a lot larger — began to dominate the scrums. It was the young Okes who scored next. Some good territorial kicking found Okehampton with a line-out on the opposition's five metre line. The ball was won and fed to centre Johnny King who drove to the line to equalize.

The scores remained the same until after the break with Okehampton growing with confidence especially in the set pieces.

After some sustained pressure by Exmouth and good defensive play by Okehampton, the young Okes cleared their line and found themselves with a scrum five metres off the Exmouth line. The ball was fed to Liam Pyle who scrambled through to put Okehampton in front. Exmouth then decided to opt back to their ruck and maul game which is clearly where their strength lies.

It paid off and after sustained pressure, Exmouth went over to level the scores.

Exmouth nearly went over again after the restart but for Jack Raymond's try saving tackle on Exmouths gigantic number eight. Exmouth had the last say on the game after a clearance kick from Okehampton went dead over the dead ball line, giving Exmouth a good attacking platform ten metres out from the Okehampton line. An infringement by Okehampton meant Exmouth were awarded a penalty who crashed through to seal victory.

The game was closely fought and could have gone either way. Well done to the whole of Okehampton Under 12s for another spirited and fighting performance.     

Teignmouth U12s 21

Okehampton U12s 0

IN this rearranged fixture Okehampton came up against some strong opposition, who were renowned for throwing the ball around from wing to wing.

From the kick-off Oke were caught on the hop and conceded a try. This rallied the young Okes and from good set pieces and runs from the back lines they found Jack Dickinson going over for a try only to be denied by an infringement.

Throughout the match, the forwards produced some excellent scrummaging, and the backs showed some impressive defensive skills and good lines of running.

The score line is probably not a true reflection of the game in this spirited performance from the Oke team.

Okehampton U10s 20

Exmouth U10s 0

AS the only home team, Okehampton enjoyed playing on the main pitch, in front of friendly and appreciative supporters.

Oke were quick off the mark, winning the first line out, passing out to Nathan to go over the line. A spell of tit for tat play followed with the ball changing sides several times. Will seized the opportunity to pick up a loose ball and run down into the Exmouth half, only to be stopped by some hard tackling from the visitors. Nathan once again showed his determination with a solo effort, managing to cover ground from within his own half back to the Exmouth try line to score.

The Oke scrum was dominant again, with Brad proving to be the better hooker, winning most of these plays. Unfortunately, Oke was not always able to capitalise on these due to pressure from Exmouth. This allowed the visitors to get near the Oke try line on several occasions but continuous tackling from all the team, with a try saving foot tap from Daniel, meant they were denied all match.

Oke then passed out quickly along the line allowing George to score. A fourth followed in the second half (Nathan).

Okehampton U10s 25

Exmouth U10s 25

THIS second game saw Oke loose a little momentum, conceding too many penalties due to a lapse in discipline. This meant they gave away the ground they had made on several occasions, allowing the opposition to get close to their try line. It was only a matter of time before Exmouth was able to take advantage of this. Will continued as he had in the first game, stealing ball right on the line to save Oke, and get that all important possession. Maddie showed a good turn of speed as did Dai Chi, but both were denied the chance to score by the strong defence of the visitors.

Nathan scored all five of the tries in this match and was deservedly voted man of the match.