Devon Veterans (over 35) tournament, Exmouth OKEHAMPTON went to the veterans? tournament with a very small squad after a dozen players cried off the night before, so it was always going to be hard having to play up to four games. In the first game Okehampton played Cullompton and were quite poor, but should still have won, before going down to a breakaway try 7-0. It always takes a local derby to bring the best out of a team, so it was lucky Okehampton played Crediton, winners against Exmouth, in the next game. Crediton were a little too confident. This made Okehampton play harder, with Phil Martin leading from the front. Okehampton eventually ran out 17-3 winners with tries from Chris Dearing, Andy Ewen and Graham Sage. In the last group game Okehampton played Exmouth and, although they never hit top gear, Exmouth rarely threatened and Okehampton won 12-3 with Dave Watts and Steve Penna scoring great tries. Okehampton had a nervous wait to see if they would go through as they and Crediton had won two games. In the end Okehampton went through by 3 plus 1 points difference. In the final Okehampton played Ivybridge, winners of the other group. Okehampton had to borrow two players from Cullompton as they had several injuries and walking wounded. Ivybridge were a big side but slow outside and this was to prove their undoing. Dave Watts, playing in the centre, had an outstanding game and sprinted in for two tries in the first half. In the second half James Baker on the wing went in for a try. Chris Dearing added a penalty and two conversions for a 22-0 victory which was amazing after the first result of the day. This was the third time Okehampton have won in seven years but surely the hardest fought victory of them all. Adrian Curtis was the man of the tournament showing true grit, followed by Phil Martin, Steve Penna, Adam Hollick and Chris Dearing, who played three games with a broken nose. Skipper Adam Curtis then collected the Whitebread Challenge Shield to send the team home in raptures.
