Exeter Youth 35

Okehampton U13s 5

ANOTHER wet and muddy game started with a kick from Exeter to Okehampton’s Ed who passed to Shortie; he was soon pounced on by an eager and well developed Exeter team. A maul followed which moved towards the tryline; the ball was ripped by Lachs who passed to Shea, he kicked above their heads back towards the halfway line. However, Exeter scooped up the ball and their player easily sprinted through Oke for their first try. A swift second try followed for Exeter as they outran the Oke boys.

There was some outstanding tackling from Oke’s Tom and Ed and Will B committing well to the rucks. Oke left the pitch open for Exeter’s third try and then finally started to put some pressure on to the home team yet the slippery conditions did not help and a fourth try for Exeter ensued.

Exeter’s passing was well drilled, using all their players to their advantage. There were plenty of scrums thoughout with Ed and Callum always working hard. Oke lost the ball again for Exeter to score. Oke created a good position towards the try line when the ball went into touch and the half time whistle was blown.

The second half saw a regenerated Oke and they put the pressure on with Shea putting in some lovely tackles. The game started to go Oke’s way. Josh and Toby got stuck in and there was a scrum close to the try line; the ball from Dan was passed to Lachs who went over to score.

Ben put in some heavy tackles and Adam made a couple of try saving tackles. Oke’s defence became much stronger and they started to work together and support each other more.

Exeter were close to the try line but Craddy for Oke passed to Shea who kicked it back towards the halfway line. Exeter started to make mistakes as Oke chased the ball.

The home side touched down again but the try was disallowed for a forward pass. Ollie made a couple of big tackles in the second half for Oke.

Late in the game Oke made a great effort in holding back the attack but Exeter finally nudged through for the final try. Exeter’s passing and support play was good in comparison to Oke and they had improved greatly since the teams last met in November.

Barnstaple U11s 0

Tavistock U11s 3 tries

THERE was a really powerful team display by Tavistock over three games with two different opponents in a special mini tournament in Launceston.

Tavistock took charge from the first whistle with fierce tackling and rucking from Nathan. Gabriel snatched up a loose ball, popping back through to Harry, Oscar, William and then through to Ernie. who sidestepped through the Barnstaple defence to score.

William was strong as ever in the ruck and ripped the ball away close to the Barnstaple try line passing through to Finlay. who put his foot down and ran almost the length of the pitch to score.

William was rewarded for his efforts with a trademark power try. Tavistock maintained their line well with really strong rucking from Noah, Michael, Matthew and Oscar.

Barnstaple U11s 1 try

Tavistock U11s 10 tries

THIS was another great rugby match as Tavistock maintained the pressure on a second Barnstaple team, that was swelled in numbers by Oscar and Harry who showed great sportsmanship when they volunteered to play for the opposition when one of their players suffered a head injury. 

Edward, who put in some really hard work with great tackling, scored first for Tavistock bursting through for an excellent try. Noah held on and drove through the Barnstaple defence to make good ground before popping back the ball to Gabriel, Michael and Finlay. Barnstaple kept up the pressure and turned the ball over right on Tavistock’s try line but Nathan leapt to win a pass and touched down for a cheeky try - the first of five in an outstanding game for him.

Ernie was ferocious in his tackling and rucking and helped Tavistock maintain possession with great support form Harry, Oscar, Noah and Edward. Oscar was rewarded for his efforts and his sportsmanship with a try.

Some lovely kicking and tackling from Dylan kept the pressure up on Barnstaple and Tavistock maintained the pressure on the Barnstaple defence with Matthew and Will working well together to win one try for Matt and two for Will.

Launceston U11s 1 try

Tavistock U11s 2 tries

TAVISTOCK showed no sign of tiredness in this their third match against a strong opposition.

Some lovely runs from Oscar after a great drive though from Gabriel and Noah helped maintain possession for the visitors. Dylan, Harry, Nathan and William were relentless in their tackling as was Michael who took down player after player and helped turn over the ball many times in Tavistock’s favour.

Another great run from Finlay saw him burst through, spinning through the Launceston defence to score. Matthew’s powerful burst though in support after William saw him touch down too. This was a really great team performance from Tavistock in tricky muddy conditions.

Exeter youth 13 tries

Okehampton U11s 7 tries

THIS week Okehampton U11s travelled to Exeter ’to roll around in the mud and chase an egg’.

Okehampton stood up to the challenge of an in-form Exeter side and for 80 percent of the game the visitors had to defend in their own half. There were highlights for Oke, coming from Conlead charging most of the pitch and the try being finished off by Xavier; Luka showing how to come of the line, earning him a try and Roman’s try saving tackles.

From the poor conditions to the well honed skills of the opposition, Okehampton struggled to keep their sprits high but they marched on with all the team giving their all.

Oke tries came from Michael, Xavier, Luka and Will. Conlead won their best player for his strong runs and Michael won most improved player for keeping his speed up in struggling conditions.

Okehampton U9s A 4 tries

Exeter U9s 7 tries

OKEHAMPTON came off the whistle focussed, and with some good passing were quick to score the first try - Dylan driving his way over the line. However, Exeter were straight into their stride, with some fast players on their team. Two tries for the opposition followed in short succession.

Oke showed good strength of character, with Corey and Fred putting in many committed tackles. Archie D scored Oke’s second try. Play continued at a fast pace, with Exeter scoring two further tries, and Myles dodging the opposition to get over the line for Oke before half time.

In the second half, Oke continued to work well together, with improved passing and offloads to combat the strong tackling from Exeter. Casper, in his first game, gained in confidence as the match progressed, and made some committed tackles. Archie P scored a great try for Oke.

Okehampton U9s A 3 tries

Exeter U9s 8 tries

ANOTHER strong Exeter team tested Oke’s teamwork in the second game.  Charlie and Myles tackled one Exeter player after another to slow the progress of the opposition. A great pass from Dylan to Archie D gave Oke a much needed try.

Fred made a good run down the pitch, but Exeter were strong in defence.

Oke were able to score two further tries, with Archie P and Archie both making it over the line with good team support. Exeter showed some great speed and use of space to win.

Okehampton U9s B 6 tries

Exeter U9s 18 tries

EXETER opened the scoring, which was quickly followed by a length of the pitch run by Harry for Oke’s  first try. This was followed by a succession of Exeter tries.

Ben for Oke made a good run only just missing the try line by being tackled to the sideline. Freddie used his quick pace up the pitch to again be tackled to the sideline. Grace made a strong committed tackle to stop Exeter scoring.

Harry and Ben created an affective string of passes before a turn over ball saw another Exeter try. An Amalie run and pass to Ben onto Grace who made good progress up the pitch, before an Exeter tackle made the ball loose which Luke quickly gathered to gain possession back. Oke showed great team effort with Ben having a good run, passing to Samuel, onto Joseph who passed to Freddie who scored Oke’s second try to make it 11-2 to Exeter at half-time.

After a strong start by Oke Exeter effectively used the tackling out of the sideline technique, which meant frequent breaks in Oke pushing forward and stopped numerous Oke runs.

Samuel went on to make a driven run with a final pass to Luke to score Oke’s third try. Good full team passes led to a final pass to Amalie who scored Oke’s fourth try.

Soon after Amalie recovered a loose ball and ran the line to score try five.

Harry moved forward with the ball, and passed onto Samual then Luke, leading to a running maul, before Joseph passed to Ben who pushed through for try number six.

Okehampton U9s A 4 tries

Exeter U9s 11 tries

A SHORTER second game again saw a strong Exeter side; Harry made a good run being supported by Luke and Ben. Some strong tackle by Freddie, Amalie and Harry kept Exeter from scoring.

Amalie scored her third try after Samuel and Luke pushed up the pitch.

An amazing full pitch run by Harry, who was supported by Ben and Amalie, saw him over the line for Oke’s second try to make it 7-2 tries to Exeter at half-time.

An Exeter try opened the half after a strong chase by Joseph. Freddie made a great run from the restart straight through the defence to score Oke’s third.

Committed tackles by Oke led to a turnover ball which Luke used to push through for our fourth try.

This was a tough game for Oke, although they became stronger as the morning went on.