Devonport U16s 22

Okehampton U16s 13

OKEHAMPTON were their own worst enemies in this scrappy encounter that could have gone either way.

Despite being hampered from the off by being two key players short, both banned after last week’s post-match sending off, Oke still had enough to win this match but too many errors cost them dearly.

Oke’s rejigged line up started brightly, and they missed the first scoring chance of the match when Ben Mckenna-Smith was just wide with a long range penalty shot after four minutes.

The visitors responded emphatically just two minutes later, when their large second rower was allowed far too much space as he slipped through some tame defence to cross for the opening score.

Oke came again in this ebb and flow encounter and were rewarded after several close efforts, when centre McKenna-Smith potted a nice penalty to make it 5-3 after barely ten minutes. Oke were already guilty of too many errors, and an unnecessary high tackle created a close range lineout for the home side. They rolled over from the resultant maul as Oke once again paid the price for a needless mistake.

The visitors continued to create openings, and after several had gone begging they finally got their first try shortly before the interval. After moving into the backs after initially starting at centre, Oke number eight Greg Daniel took full advantage of an Oke scrum strike against the head to bundle over for his fourth try of the season.

The third quarter went well for the Oke, as they firstly missed a penalty chance before their best passage of play in the match created a score to give them the lead. The Oke backs handled well from right to left, which allowed left winger Ollie Arden to take the ball deep into the Services’ 22, and from a resultant ruck two phases later, prop George Ogbourne picked up and drove over for a well-deserved score. No extra points added, but 13 -10 up with twenty minutes left things looking good for the Okehampton.

Disappointingly the visitors failed to build on this and a lack of pattern or strategy allowed Services a foothold.

Oke compounded errors by failing to clear their lines and by throwing too many risky passes. The Services left winger benefitting from this to regain the lead at 15-13, before Oke were surprisingly pushed off their own scrum ball only minutes later to allow the home scrum half an unopposed run in. Oke tried to respond in the time remaining, but never really threatened and will be disappointed as this was a game that they could’ve won. However, they will have a chance to get back to winning ways in a fortnights time at home versus Stonehouse Sharks.

Tavistock U15s 17

Ivybridge U15s 0

THE first cup match of the new season saw a strong start from for the Tavistock team.

A long kick into the Ivybridge 22 gave Connor Baker and Josh Davies a great run down the right wing only to be tackled by the Ivybridge backs.

A strong ruck from the Tavistock forwards, gave the scrum half Tom Pearson, a little snipe for a try in the second minute.

Tavistock had their heads held high and continued to keep the pressure on the Ivybridge side. Their forwards worked hard, with Toby Teague, Archie Allen and Jason Blake driving the ball forward.

After spending most of the first half in the Ivybridge 22, another try came from Jason Blake just before half time.

In the second half Ivybridge came out fighting but with the fast pace in the backs from Jude White, James Paxman and Zac Gorton the ball was soon back in their opponents’ half.

Both sides worked hard for the next 20 minutes with forwards Robin Bickley, Jon Lord, Ollie Noy-Scott, Lawrence Stewart and Pete Bull for Tavistock driving the ball forward in the rucks and mauls.

Tavistock gained momentum with a little chip from Luke Lewandowski to give Archie Allen a chance to power through the Ivybridge defence, giving Tavistock the third try of the game.

With only minutes left, a quick conversion from Zac Gorton sealed the game for Tavistock.

This was a superb cup win for Tavistock against a strong Ivybridge team.

Okehampton U14s 7

Torquay U14s 0

OKEHAMPTON travelled to Torquay for their preliminary round of the Devon Cup. 

The first half was fairly even, with Okehampton creating a couple of scoring opportunities early on, which did not come off, and Torquay doing the same in the latter part of the half. 

The impressive defence and big hitting tackles from both sides saw them go into the break at 0-0.

The second half continued in much the same vein, until the young Okes broke the deadlock ten minutes in. 

With the ref playing a penalty advantage in Torquay’s 22, Okehampton took their chance well, spreading quick ruck ball wide, first one way, before coming back crossfield to create a gap for Daniel Tomkins to score; Joshua Burgoyne converted. 

Staunch tackling from Okehampton left Torquay on the back foot and unable to advance much beyond halfway for the rest of the game, seeing Okehampton safely through to the next round.

Okehampton U13s 7

Devonport U13s 38

OKEHAMPTON started their first game against a well-prepared Devonport team who had already won three matches this season. While the score suggests a one-sided game, this was far from the case. The key differences were the match fitness of some of the Okehampton team and their reluctance to trust their passing game. From a defensive perspective, the sides were evenly matched although Devonport edged the scrum battles.

Tackling from Okehampton was excellent against a free flowing Devonport side.

Three tries in both halves gave Devonport their points with the Okehampton try coming in the second half after several phases; good rucking, a strong half-back link, and forceful running from the full back created the try.

The Okehampton team, with many new players, showed great potential and should be proud of their performance in their first outing this season.

Launceston U11s

v Tavistock U11s

DRY and overcast conditions welcomed both teams for the first match of the 2015 campaign. Launceston kicked off and although Tavistock had possession is was the home team that managed to stem any advance from the visitors. Tavistock had a defensive clearing  kick charged down from which Launceston scored. Tavistock started to come into the game more from the restart; however, it was Launceston who demonstrated better  handling of the ball and their attacking formation. Tavistock to their credit were providing a stiff solid defence but Launceston doubled their score after being camped in Tavistock’s half.

The second half saw Tavistock kick off but Launceston collected the ball and scored immediately from this. To compound the problem Tavistock restarted the game and Launceston repeated the feat. Tavistock composed themselves and gained some shape in attack. They showed some character and this resulted in a score from Callum.

Tavistock almost scored again after a long, fine run from Matthew. who was unlucky to have stepped into touch just before crossing the try line. The visitors were certainly more determined but were being frustated by the continuous breaks in play due to penalties conceded by Launceston.

However, Launceston were more successful  in securing possession at the breakdown and had a wider defence and attack formation.  This resulted in the home team scoring four more tries. Tavistock fielded three new players Mack, Murray and Leo and they should all be congratulated for showing great potential.