Okehampton U14s 39 Launceston U14s 0 PLAYING down the slope, Launceston had the better of the opening exchanges, and were camped in the home side?s 22 for long periods. The Okes? defence was strong with Jack Phare and Luke Miller putting in good cover tackles. The forwards began to exert authority, outrucking and outmauling the opposition, and worked their way up the pitch, leading to a break up the blind side by Rob Stepto. He spun the ball to Matt Webber to score in the corner. There followed a similar try when Stepto sped up the touchline to score. Playing down the slope and with the wind advantage in the second half, Okehampton started to dominate. Will Hawkin and Edwin Kendall were superb in the lineouts, with many steals on the opposition throw in, and with the scrummaging going well, the Okes had plenty of ball. Cameron Rickerby at fly-half kicked cross-field for Kevin Dennis to collect and run in unopposed to score, followed by another try from Stepto, another from Webber and an interception by Kendall who scored under the posts, and a try from the forwards, when Phil Downie on his debut was pushed over by the rest of the pack. North/Okes U13s 32 Launceston U13s 5 THE team got back to winning ways with an emphatic display marred only by a substantial half-time delay and bad injury to one of the opposition backs. Driving through their forwards North/Okes made rapid ground and cut deep towards their opponents? line. Will Lethbridge picked up a loose ball and dived over for a well deserved try. A good forward drive saw Dan Curtis held up on the line, but excellent mauling by the forwards saw Graham Glew score. Great driving runs by Martin Hann and Chris Knott opened the way for swift ball to be moved along the backs where Brennan Townsend run through the defence to open up a clear lead. With an injured player lying on the pitch the game moved to the main pitch for the second half. North/Okes continued to dominate and a succession of rucks saw first Chris Knott, then Martin Hann and finally Gary Down drive towards the opposition line to score a great forwards try. Launceston stuck gamely to their task with excellent defence but Martin Hann, picking the ball up on the 22, made an excellent run shrugging off a number of tackles to cross for a well deserved try which Will Searle converted. From the kick-off Michael Heard collected the ball and made ground down the right, good interplay between backs and forwards saw the opposition backs drawn in which allowed centre Eric Bright to cross for the final try. In the last minute Launceston won a lineout near the North/Okes line. Good forward play saw them cross for a deserved try to close an excellent game of rugby played in near perfect conditions. Okehampton U12s 26 Launceston U12s 0 OKEHAMPTON returned to winning ways over their local rivals. The pack was excellent, providing good ball from tight and loose play and giving the half back pairing of Henry Penrose and Tom Fogarty the chance to show their skills. Tom had an excellent game, controlling the line in attack and defence and making good ground with his kicking. But it was from the forwards that the first scores came as good driving play gave Graham Benny the chance to bravely dive in from near the line. Okehampton came straight back from the kick-off and Benny scored his second try in as many minutes. Okehampton then scored their third and best try of the game as Olly Kirby ran back a kick and handed the ball to Sam Ewen in close support who made good ground before timing his pass perfectly for Charlie Nielson to sprint in to the line. The second half saw the Okehampton backs put some great passing together but good tackling from Launceston reduced the scoring to one try for Matt Johns to go with his three conversions. Next match January 8 v Ivybridge at home. Okehampton U10s 30 Launceston U10s 10 OKEHAMPTON carried on where they left off from last week, moving the ball well to open up a 15-0 lead in the first half, on a terrible muddy pitch, with two tries from Kieren Lee and one from Giles Heard. Changes were made at half time and Launceston came back, scoring twice, but Okehampton upped a gear in the last ten minutes and scored through Will Cooper. Giles Heard grabbed two more. North/Okes U9s 15 Launceston U9s 15 NORTH/Okes scored early but Launceston retaliated with a breakaway try. Sticky conditions meant the backs did not get a lot of pace on the ball until Daniel Foggerty sidestepped Launceston?s defence and had a dash down the wing to score. North/Okes defended their line furiously in the second half to keep the score a well deserved draw. North/Okes 15 Launceston 10 THE second game of the morning was even more exciting than the first. Forwards Callum Mallett and Richard Hann driving up the centre of the pitch allowing the backs to run, but Launceston defended well. George Courtier put in a try-saving tackle and after a short break Okehampton went over for a second try. A high tackle raised the temperature even more and both sides battled out the last few minutes, but North/Okes scored just before the whistle, having given their best team performance of this season. Okehampton U8s 80 Launceston U8s 70 THE match had two sets of twins, Jack and Tom playing for Launceston against twins Benjamin and Samuel for Okehampton. The first line-up included Reece Peacock, Tallan Burns, Benjamin Stratton, Samuel Stratton, Tom Strawbridge, Brandon Horn. The second line-up included Robbie Bell, Brad Curtis, Scott Donaldson, Matthew Dennis, Rowan Pillivant, Patrick Ewen. Brandon Horn scored the first try in the first minutes of the game, followed by Benjamin Stratton quickly scoring the second. All the boys showed great team work defending the back line with committed tagging to overpower Launceston and win the game. Tries scored by Brandon Horn (3), Benjamin Stratton (2), Reece Peacock, Tallan Burns (2), Brad Curtis (4), Rowan Pillivant, Patrick Ewen, Robbie Bell (2). Training will restart on Friday January 6. Tavistock U15s 36 Torrington U15s 10 THE last match before Christmas proved to be the best performance of the season. Despite an early penalty by Torrington Tavistock came back with a strong attack, concluding with a try and conversion. The good team effort produced robust work in the scrums and mauls, with excellent passing, allowing O?Neill, Warlow, Cuthbert and Morgan (2) to score. Cuthbert converted twice and Smith made the third conversion. Stunning runs by the forwards combined with a co-ordinated defence made an exciting game played with great spirit and enthusiasm. Torrington played well with a late try but Tavistock?s game plan and determination could not be beaten. Leeson was voted man of the match. The team resumes training on Thursday January 5. New members always welcome.
