Okehampton U13s 50

Exeter Youth 0

THIS was he best game of the season so far by Okehampton which saw all the players making their mark against a strong visiting team. The score, however, did not reflect how well the visitors played.

Oke started steadily chipping into the Exeter Youth half slowly making inroads, Alex as always was solid with his tackling. A foul in the ruck turned the ball over to Oke which was taken into touch with the play back to Exeter. They kicked back to Dan and a ruck followed. Shea for Oke picked from the ruck and kicked back down the pitch and everyone chased. A kick from Ben saw Oke knock on and an Exeter scrum was given.

Saul was always making progress when on the ball. Reuben picked a ball, passed to Adam who popped it to Alex for the first try of the game. Oke were using their training to good effect in their passing which led to Saul’s try. Saul and Reuben worked together and took a player into touch.

A brief break, due to an Exeter injury, seemed to spur on the Exeter lads on who came back with gusto. The ball was close to the Oke tryline but a kick from Shea took the ball back into the Exeter half. Shea scooped a loose ball, passed to Arion who was bundled into touch. Saul had the tryline in his sights after a good sprint but was taken down with a well timed tap tackle. Alex put in a long run, passed to Dan for an equally long run to score.

Shortie put in some good tackles and catches plus another try for Dan. A period of scrappy play ended the first half.

The second half saw Will B tackling well and Saul score two tries, one of which was from one end of the pitch to the other.

Exeter put in a challenge into the Oke half but he was brought to a stop by Chris and Will. Jacob jointly tackled and got caught up in a maul.

The second half saw new player Ollie in his first game for Oke. An exciting second half was bought to a close almost at full time by another injury but all was well. Both teams played the game in a good spirit.

Tavistock U11s 1try

Ivybridge U11s 6 tries

THE Tavistock boys rose with huge strength to the challenge against a side that had comprehensively beaten them a couple of weeks ago.

From the start Tavistock were defensively good. Some excellent tackles from George won the home side possession on the Ivybridge tryline and as a team, they kept the visitors out for the whole of the first quarter.

Really powerful rucking from Ernie made ground against a well drilled Ivybridge side. Alistair got amongst them and disrupted their line so they could not make any progress. Excellent rucking from William, Harry and Matthew saw possession turn over to Tavistock and they kept winning it. Some great scrums from Oscar, Bay and Nathan, Oscar striking the ball against the head to win it for the home team, a great achievement in this first season of contested scrums.

Ivybridge brought a strong side to Tavistock and brought on a full new team for the second quarter. They were rewarded with two quick tries in succession, but Tavistock got back into the game with some terrier like tackling and rucking from Finlay and Michael and great passing from Leon. Noah was strong too in the ruck, working well with Bay to get the ball clear. Edward made great strides through the Ivybridge defence before popping out to Harry who streaked through to score. He was close to scoring again straight away, but Ivybridge drew their boys in to stop him just on the tryline.

Although the scoreline may suggest otherwise, this was a really good display from Tavistock who had been understandably nervous about facing Ivybridge again so soon after that heavy away defeat. They kept their heads up till the end and were unlucky that the score was not closer, with Harry and William both missing out by inches right at the death.

Exeter Chiefs U10s

5 tries

Oke U10s 5 tries

OKEHAMPTON were slow to get going, quickly finding themselves three tries down. Stanley led the fight back for Oke and the confidence started to grow as the team made great use of the width of the pitch with Henry scoring after fine building work from the whole side.

A mazy run from Dylan broke through the Exeter defences, Ewan ran an excellent supporting line to take the pass and feed Henry for a second try. Stanley scored another direct from the restart and suddenly the Chiefs found themselves on the back foot. With both teams displaying real commitment, Oke finished off the game in style as Todd scavenged the ball from the bottom of a ruck after a Jacob run and picked our Ciaran, who outpaced the Chiefs to score.

Exeter Chiefs U10s

4 tries

Okehampton U10s

6 tries

OKEHAMPTON were on fire with this superb demonstration of teamwork in what had to be the best match of the season so far. The Chiefs threw everything at Oke with some seriously impressive bursts of individual skill but Oke were resolute under pressure with thumping tackling and excellent counter rucking.

Riley and Stanley both scored by taking route one, carving straight through the middle of the Exeter defence. Mikey and Zara got really stuck in and showed great awareness to keep the ball moving at pace around the pitch.

Thomas repeatedly weaved his way through the Chiefs setting up Jacob who was untouchable as he streaked away to score in the corner. As Chiefs increasingly chased the game, Oke took full advantage of the extra space with Wilf picking up two long distance tries both set up by great work from Rocco. This was a thoroughly entertaining high-octane match.

Exeter Chiefs U10s

4 tries

Okehampton U10s

0 tries

EXETER showed their pedigree in the third match with a much slicker and forceful performance. Oke stood firm and made the Chiefs really work for the ball with Lily putting in repeated outstanding tackles. Oke were fighting to the end with both Dylan and Todd saving two sure fire tries by smashing the opposition into touch with flying last-ditch tackles. The final score did not do justice to how close the match really was.

Exeter Chiefs U10s

2 tries

Okehampton U10s

3 tries

THIS was a pulsating end to end affair. Freddie punched holes for Oke through the centre with Thomas and Henry sniping round the edges. Wilf smashed through the middle to open the scoring and Thomas followed up with a second as Stanley somehow burgled the ball from every breakdown.

The Chiefs pounded the Oke line but superb team work drove them back again and again. Ciaran brought the crowd to its feet as he broke away from his own line to speed down the length of the pitch to score and win another excellent match.

Exeter Youth 12 tries

Okehampton U9s 8 tries

OKEHAMPTON team A started strong; Myles scored the first try within the first few minutes with Archie P adding another try not long after.

Exeter were a strong team and soon equalised. Oke took some hard tackles to the ground which led to ball fumbles and this allowed Exeter to gain possession and score.

Oke were determined keeping a strong defence; this led to further tries from Harry and Ben and by half time were only 5-7 down.

Oke picked up their gameplay in the second half . Myles was a force to be reckoned with and was hot on the heels of the opposition and made every tackle count.  Harry showed great skill with a flying tackle on the Exeter player while Luke made great progress up the field and was always supporting the action. Ben ran a strong run straight through the Exeter Youths to claim a superb try.  Felicity held strong while being tackled she managed to stay on her feet and quickly passed to Corey who made a run to the try line only to be pushed out to touch at the last second. 

Oke stayed focused and got their try with some great supportive gameplay from them all. Archie P showed rapid pace and determination and scored a hat-trick of tries. The team played well against our well structured opponents, with great teamwork from Corey, Myles and Archie P. 

Exeter Youths 10 tries

Oke U9s 7 tries

IN the first match Exeter held their defence line well and Oke team B struggled to get through. Samuel L finally found space and showed good speed to score the first of several tries.

Oke continued to work hard with Amalie making a great tackle and Joseph doing some smart passing. However Exeter continued to score. Oke, though, were not disheartened. Dylan made a strong run with Samuel finishing the move with another try. The final score in the first game 10-7 Exeter with Samuel L having scored all of Oke’s tries. 

Exeter Youths 8 tries

Oke U9s 6 tries

CHARLIE for Oke put in a run of four strong tackles followed by Joseph pushing Exeter into  touch. This gave Oke a great start. Samuel L again found space to score a try. Exeter showed their strength and it was proving a close contest. Grace drove hard for the line to keep Oke ahead. Charlie made good ground with Dylan able to push over the line for the try. With committed team work oke won the second game 8-6.