TAVISTOCK made it through the group stages of the Paignton U12s mini-festival and drew a hard fought final against a big Ivybridge side. Tavistock won an early lineout in their first game against Launceston and  forwards Harry, Hugo, Cameron, Will and Theo drove Callum over to score. Then in the second half the ball was passed down the back line before James burst through to score and seal the victory.

Against the hosts Paignton a solid platform from the scrum created space for the backs to run in five tries including a hat-trick from Bernie . In their final group match battled against Brixham. The forwards won a scrum against the head which gave space for George to jink up the short side and score in the corner. Following another scrum  later in the first half Ethan broke through in the centre to give a 10-0 lead at half time. There were no tries in the second half were in the final. In the final Tavistock took the game to Ivybridge and the majority of the match was played in the opposition half. The Tavistock forwards were held up over  the try line by a strong Ivybridge defence and  despite darting runs from Ben, Dan, Laurence and Lily, Tavistock just could not get the ball over to score and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.

Okehampton U11s went down to play in the annual Trevor Ward Festival at Paignton RFC on Sunday.

In the first game they played against the hosts and ran out comfortable 25-0 winners and Honiton unable to stop the Maroon and Amber Army as they rumbled to a 10-5 victory. The final group game saw them take on Bristol-based Clifton and another strong performance resulted in a 15-0 win. In the final against Honiton a suspected broken collar bone to fly-half Jack Ogbourne in the group stages led to Ebby Vallance filling the no.10 berth. He performed with aplomb as the Okes took control although a long distance try from the impressive Leon Horn.

In the second period a Greg Daniel drive from 20 metres out saw him give Okehampton some breathing space with the second try. Honiton responded with a try from a short-range penalty but as the Oke forwards closed the game out Leon Horn was able to snap up the ball to go over in the corner to make the final score 15-5.

An excellent day's rugby and full credit to Greg Daniel, Corey Holliday, Ethan Hoggins, Nya Jewel, Riou Thomas, Simon Moody, Kieran Coyle, Ebby Vallance, Jack Chapman, Jack Ogbourne, Adam Wonnacott, Alfie Gillespie, Ollie Arden, Leon Horne, Joseph Stratton and Joel Tancock.

Okehampton U10s 35

Sidmouth U10s 20

OKEHAMPTON were a little slow out of the blocks allowing the visitors to score twice before they really got into the game.

Then, Imogen flew down the left wing only to be denied a try but a well timed Sidmouth tackle, putting her into touch. Strong forward running from Will and James, together with a dominance in the scrum, allowed Oke to get back into the game.

Sidmouth continued to pass out well along the line but the strong Oke defence denied them any further tries. Nathan and DaiChi managed three tries a piece for Oke and James was rewarded for all of his hard work by going over for a try himself.

Will Risdon was player of the match.

Okehampton U10s 10

Sidmouth U10s 25

OKEHAMPTON welcomed Tom Stevens to the team and he ran out for his first appearance in this second game against Sidmouth. The game was evenly matched to begin with but better rucking from Sidmouth allowed them to have more of the ball and therefore more opportunity to score.

Nathan scored both of the tries for Okehampton.

Okehampton U9s 40

Sidmouth U9s 20.

OKEHAMPTON took the game to the visitors with a well controlled defensive and powerful rucking performance. Daniel Tomkins, James Stevens, Sonny Luxton and Cole Pengelley (2) all had strong all round games. Saul Holliday, Charlie Glanville 1, Jake Laing-Taylor and Harry Laing-Taylor stole Sidmouth ball on countless occasions from mauls turning defence into attack. Robert Whitby, Mathew Denning, Ben Wharton, George Cox, Liam Daintree and David Smith all put in good workman like performances supporting the team with real commitment.

Joshua Burgoyne (2) and Ethan Wilds (3) linked well at half backs with both players making strong runs to score and setting up others. Joshua McCulloch and Daniel Wonnacott both made powerful runs splitting the Sidmouth defence while James Close again put in a good all round controlled, tidy performance never losing the ball.

Okehampton U9s 25

Wells U9s 10

The Oke U9s had two games against the touring team Wells and won 25-10 and 30-10.  Both sides put in ferocious tackles and hard-hitting runs. For Oke George Cox, Jordon Mills, Matthew Denning, Jake Lainge-Taylor and Liam Daintree put in much improved all round performances, with Matthew and George producing great try saving tackles. Joshua Burgoyne, Daniel Wonnacott,1, and Ethan Wilds all made strong team contributions in the backs.

Ben Wharton 1, Harry Laing-Taylor, Daniel Tomkins, Josh McCulloch and James Stevens turned the ball over to turn defence into attack while Robert Whitby showed real promise. Cole Pengelley (1) aquitted himself well with another tireless performance while Will Cunningham scored seven tries and earn the the acclaim of the visiting coaches. The try of the match came from Saul Holliday who ripped the ball from Wells hands breaking away from a maul to sprint half the length of the pitch to touch down with a well deserved try for his hard work.

Tavistock U9s

AT the Trevor Ward festival Tavistock U9s battled all the way to the group final only to lose out winners Ivybridge.

In the pool game Tavistock beat 15-0 with a try from Harry Richardson and two tries from Noah Berridge.

Against Clifton the Tavistock boys took the led in the first seconds from a strong run by Harry Richardson feeding Louis Peake. Strong mauling set up a second try for Louis Peake. Some great support work from backs Dan Pett and Jack Baker and solid scrum half work from James Kenyon sealing the 10-0 win. The third game against Brixham saw strong breakdown work from Oscar Campbell, Cameron Georgel and Tom Gardener with scrum and fly halves  James Kenyon and Noah Berridge working hard to secure the ball. Tries for Louis Peake (4), Noah Berridge and Harry Edwards resulted in a 30-10 win. In the pool game against Ivybridge they won 10-5 win with two superb solo efforts from wingers Harry Edwards and Louis Peake before they drew the last game with Clifton 0-0.

In the group final  a single breakaway try secured the win for Ivybridge but the Tavistock team battled on the final whistle coming close several. This was a great team performance by Tavistock over a long day of hard rugby.

Okehampton U8s 7 tries

Sidmouth U8s 6 tries

LAST Sunday Okehampton and Sidmouth played a good game of rugby on a sunny day. Oke fought hard to win by one score. Try scorers for Oke were Edward, Oliver, Jacob, Charlie and Tom.

Okehampton U8s 11 tries

Sidmouth U8s 15 tries

IN the second match, these same players all scored again and Jay joined them. Lewis tagged the Sidmouth players hard, as did most of the Oke's. Edward was great in defence, and was denied a try near the touch line after diving over it. The player of the match was James Hockridge, who took home the team squirrel.

Tavistock U7s 4 tries

Plymstock U7s 6 tries

THE teams conjured up two close matches at Sandy Park.  In the first match Plymstock achieved a well-earned 6-4 win despite Tavistock making the running in the first half.  In the second half Plymstock capitalised on a number of lapses in concentration, before Tavistock rallied to get back into the game. 

Tavistock U7s 6 tries

Plymstock U7s 5 tries

THE second match was again close.  Tavistock defended well, and the the difference between the teams was the excellent supporting play by the home side with quick short passes and decisive running throughout the team. 

Tavistock scorers over both matches were, Ollie and Ollie Pett, Jonathan, Jared, Alex, Billy Wilkinson and player of the match Calum. 

Next years U7s from both teams played a game won by Tavistock. Laird, Billy, William, Seb, Ewen and Luke all did very well, with Christopher showing great leadership. 

Oke Red U7s 9 tries

Sidmouth U7s 4

SIDMOUTH started the game on the front foot with some excellent  passing and recycling of the ball to go into a two try lead . Okehampton replied with some superb tagging and support play. The Oke scorers were Aedan (3), Joe (2) and one each for Adam, Jacob, Marcus and Josh. Ethan and Holly worked hard for Oke in defence, while captain Adam led from the front using his speed and movement across the pitch to created space for his team to score. Try of the match went to Joe who took advantage of a dropped ball by Sidmouth which bounced  he then caught it on the move and ran three quarters of the pitch to score in the corner.  

Oke Blue U7s 3 tries

Sidmouth U7s 8 tries

OKE captained by Chris who, alongside Finley, Isaac, William  and Alex worked hard to keep a good Sidmouth at bay.

Oke's try scorers were Alex Harrison (2) and Isaac 1.  The Okehampton players never gave up with Milo , Lachlan and Cameron all putting in excellent games.