Tavistock U16s 24

Kingsbridge U16s 37

WITH three players away with the Devon squad Tavistock had to dig deep to keep pace with one of the county's strongest teams.

Tavistock contested furiously at the breakdown with captain Theo Cousins losing none of his tenacity after returning from injury. He was ably assisted by his back row colleague Steve Kirby and props Richard Cann and Ben Luke. Ben Luke's powerful clearing out of the rucks helped keep the home side ahead at half time. Tries from Ben Milligan and Billy McNicol were converted from wide out by Milligan.

The second half saw Tavistock rocked by a three try blitz from Kingsbridge. Nevertheless, good running from centre Ben Milligan helped get the home side's heads back into the game. Sean Donnelly came off his wing to make some strong tackles. Richard Cann busted over for a well deserved score before the powerful second row Scott Morris secured two losing bonus points for the side with another drive across the line from close range.

Okehampton U15s 29

Brixham U15s 7

THIS was an ultimately clear cut victory for Okehampton, after a stuttering start in this Devon cup first round tie.

Starting up the slope the Oke boys applied plenty of early pressure. It was no surprise when Greg Daniel broke the deadlock with a pick up and power over effort from a five yard scrum. Oke were fully on top but failed to take their chances and suffered several near misses. They were made to pay when a Brixham hoof out of defence was not dealt with; the bouncing ball was regathered and run home to give the visitors a surprise 7-5 lead at the interval.

Oke came out rejuvenated and despite being guilty of over playing up front at times, they ran in four further tries. First up was the try of the match when winger Ben Mckenna-Smith showed good pace and strength, chipped ahead, regathered and fed centre Ollie Arden who crossed to score. Ben converted to make it 12-7. Greg Daniel bagged his brace minutes later with another forceful run up the blindside, before George Ogbourne got the reward his forays deserved with a try from a quickly taken tap penalty. The final score went to Ben Mckenna Smith after another chip chase and charge down. The winger converted to wrap up a decent display from the home side.

Tavistock U14s 48

Saltash U14s 0

TAVISTOCK kept possession for a large part of the first half and this was translated into five great tries, all scored by different players. Toby Teague scored the first with a run, breaking through the Saltash defence, Pete Bull, Tom Mackensie Connor Baker and Jude White all followed on with well worked scores. There were three conversions which had the score on 41-0 at half time.

The second half saw Joe Burbage score two more and Tavistock full back, Jude, putting one more under the posts. Some good work from Jason Blake and Archie Allen in the forwards always gave the momentum to Tavistock and the backs led by Tom Pearson, the scrum half, always looked strong. As Saltash tried to fight back in the second half, good defensive work from James Paxman, Jacob Staig and Zac Gorton steadied the ship.

Robin Bickley and Tom Mackensie were noted for their hard work and sportsmanship.

Saltash U13s 12

Tavistock U13s 10

BOTH teams set off with the forwards going head to head in some crunching rucks. However, Tavistock made early handling errors that set the tone for the rest of the game and allowed Saltash to get a foothold when they ran in a try after a hard fought 10 minutes in the corner to lead 5-0.

The Tavistock hookers Ben Mckenzie and Sennen Bench stole ball against the head and lineouts were ruled by James Roisseter  but the visitors could not find a way through a determined Saltash defence until just before half time when Matt Davey burst through to score to make it 5-5 at half time.

The second half carried on in a similar vein to the first with Jaxom Cann using his strength to carve paths through but handling errors let Tavistock down again. Poor organisation after a clearing kick from Tavistock allowed Saltash to dart and weave their way through under the posts and the conversion took them ahead. Tavistock rallied and spent the rest of the game in the Saltash half. Backs Luke Edwards, Owen Staples and Jacob Hill made several forays but Saltash held firm. Eventually after three held up tries, Harry Richardson picked up from the back of a scum, shot down the blindside and went over in the corner with the last play of the game. The touchline conversion was just too far for Tavistock and Saltash held onto the two point lead at the whistle. Tom Persse was Tavistock player of the match.

Okehampton U11s 0

Topsham U11 5

OKEHAMPTON included three new players with Will, Luke and Freddie waiting to get stuck in.

Oke were slow to get to started before getting to grips with the game again. Topsham made good use of clearance kicks but Matt for Oke made some impressive takes and his team soon rushed making an attacking line and pushing with some real aggression.

Ioan was on top form for Oke and not letting anyone pass him, making good use of the rucks and mauls. Okehampton fought back with Will making a good debut and Luke, Aedan and Sam showing awareness of others in their passing. Jo, Alfie and Sam put the pressure on as the half ended.

The second half saw a whole pitch of fresh players that did not disappoint. Isaac took down anything that came his way with Ethan driving and bulldozing, Seth tackling well and Jacob and Morgan with their speed to stop Topsham scoring again.

Mount Kelly U11B 21

Plymouth College U11B 12

MOUNT Kelly's impressive performance demonstrated effective rucking and passing down the line on a number of occasions. George Collins powered his way over from a penalty close to the Plymouth line, a feat he repeated close to the half time break. Plymouth replied with two of their own tries as the first half ended at 14-12.

The game was in the balance until Toby Berryman picked up a loose pass and outpaced the defence. From the kick off Ben Bailey caught the restart and sliced his way through the entire Plymouth defence to score, with Thomas Birchell converting.

Topsham U10s 5 tries

Oke U10s 5 tries

THE home team attacked strongly from the outset but the pressure did not deter the Oke lads. Topsham were working uphill; a scrum near the visitors' tryline was won by Oke, and swiftly played out of the danger zone by Toby. Adam made a try saving tackle just before half time with neither team scoring. The second half saw Topsham pushed Oke into touch. All the players were close to the tryline supporting each other which allowed Lachs to break through and score. Commendable support was shown by Shortie, Ed, Will, Calslum, Shea and Toby. Topsham followed through with their try, again Adam prevented Topsham from scoring further.

Topsham U10s 5 tries

Oke U10s 10 tries

OKEHAMPTON started the game playing uphill, Will and Lachs showing good teamwork. Shea's quick thinking from a maul resulted in a try for him. A scrum close to the tryline saw a try from Topsham before half time. Callum opened the second half with a fine try. Most of the second half was so close to the Topsham tryline, but Oke could not penetrate their solid defence.

Topsham U10s 15 tries

Oke U10s 10 tries

SUPERB tackling was seen from captain Saul and Josh for Oke. All round credit goes to Alex who showed some superb play. There was good support play from Dan, Ben, Archie, Jacob, Flynn, Finn and Ryan.

Tiverton U10s 15 tries

Oke U10s 10 tries

JOSH and Ben were working well together. A sturdy run from Dan took him so close to the tryline, he was very unlucky to have been pushed into touch. Again, Saul worked well and scored both tries for Oke.

Tavistock U10s

Ivybridge U10s

IVYBRIDGE U10s posed a stern test in Tavistock's first game of the new season. The visitors put together several phases from the kick off and scored.  A knock-on at the restart led to the home side being quickly two scores down and a third Ivybridge try followed before the Tavistock boys started to find their feet.  

Max was unlucky to be felled by a last ditch tackle after a strong break, and Ryan made an important try-saving tackle on his own line.  However, Tavistock were unable to play their way out of their own half and the constant attacking pressure took its toll.  Despite excellent tackling work from Dylan, Luke and Ryan the home side shipped two more unanswered tries to end the first half five tries down.

The second half was a more even affair as Tavistock upped their game, pressuring the Ivybridge team and playing further up the pitch.  Although Ivybridge were still able to score three more tries, James L scored twice for Tavistock with a couple of fine individual breaks off of some fantastic offload passing. 

Tavistock U10s 20

Ivybridge U10s 20

The second game of the morning provided a superb display of rugby from both teams. Ivybridge again scored first but this time Tavistock responded quickly as a pass from Luke released James L to sprint down the wing and score.  

Ivybridge continued to beat tackles and score but Tavistock kept in touch with James L scoring his fourth try from a superb pass from debutante James D and Luke scoring with the last play of the half.  

At the break Tavistock were a score down and an immense defensive effort from all the team limited Ivybridge to a single try. Debutant Sam M made a good start with some great tackling and, Edward, Luke and Dylan were fully committed. Edward was rewarded for his effort with a try and Ben broke through to level the scores. Tavistock had the upper hand in the dying minutes; Ben and Matthew D were both unlucky to be held up just short of the line. Ivybridge held their nerve to deny the home side a win, with the second game ending in a draw.

Topsham U9s 17

Okehampton U9s 21

ON a fine dry morning Oke travelled to Topsham for their first ever game of contact. In the first game things were really tight with both sides' defences on top, until Oke's Grady Alford slipped through a couple of tackles to score right on half-time.

The second half started the same but then Cain Holiday and Callum Rose started to make big holes in the defence. After a great run down the line Callum Keegan scored in the corner. Grady popped up again for his second try after some good work from all the team passing and running from their own line.

The second game was more open with more tries being scored as the boys grew tired. Cain made some great tackles supported well by the rest of the team. Oke tries by Grady (5), Thomas J (2) and Cain. In the third game there were some great defensive play from the boys but in the end they just lost. Oke tries by Billy Tomkins, Jack White and Max Bickle. In their fourth game Oke turned it around with great runs by Matthew Lane, Cameron Spiers, Max Bickle and Drew Carnall. Billy was great in both attack and defence. Oke tries by Billy, Cameron, Matthew, Harry, Max B and Jack (2). The boys did really well on their first contact matches and Oke U9s welcome Jack White and Drew Carnall to the team. 

Tavistock U9s B 10 tries

Ivybridge U9s 9 tries

TAVISTOCK B started with some fine running by Sam Perkins to open the scoring. Ivybridge came back and took the lead by scoring three tries in quick succession.

After some initial nerves Tavistock started to keep their shape and started to pass the ball well. This was made evident by two good tries by Sam Perkins again and also a superb diving try by Archie Wall. Sam Palmer put in some strong tackles and prevented Ivybridge scoring with a try saving tackle. By half time the score was 3-4 to Ivybridge.

The second half began and Tavistock produced some strong tackling. An early try by Joshua Bailey brought the scores level. Both teams scored another five tries, three more for Sam Perkins and a further two for Joshua Bailey. With the secores level in the last play of the game Tavistock turned over the ball and Archie Wall scored a the final try to give them victory.

Tavistock U9s A 11

Ivybridge U9s 10

THIS was an exciting and close affair with Tavistock A playing good rugby. Two tries by Sam Hunter and Laird Whitford with a further try by Archie Chalk ensured the team were level pegging with a resiliant Ivybridge team at half time.

The second half saw tries for Solly Hunter (2), for Amelie White and Ethan with Tavistock holding their own. All the team produced some selfless play, strong tackling and good lay offs. Further tries by Laird and Sam Hunter ensured Tavistock came away with a well deserved win.

Ivybridge U8s 5 tries

Tavistock U8s 8 tries

IN the first game of the season there was some good passing and tagging as the Tavistock boys worked well in defence and attack. Ivybridge had some fast runners and broke away for the first try. Tavistock came back straight away and put together a string of passes for William A to burst through to score the first of his two tries. Jack used his pace to good advantage to score four tries and also took some great tags. There was some great passing right through the team as Ivybridge kept up the pressure, but most Improved Player Edward made the most of this to score two tries.

Ivybridge U8s 9 tries

Tavistock U8s 1 try

TAVISTOCK's heads went down a little as a strong Ivybridge team romped through with nine tries. But as the game wore on they started to put together some good tagging. Tom used his speed to score Tavistock's only try.

Ivybridge U8s 8 tries

Tavistock U8s 1 try

IT took a third Tavistock team a little time to get their heads around the game.

There was some good passing between the boys with Lewis, James C, Gabriel, Austin and George looking for space and just getting caught out at the last by a quick Ivybridge side. George was unlucky not to score after making a tremendous run right through the Ivy boys.

Alastair, who took some superb tags, ran round the back of the Ivybridge defence to score Tavistock's only try just before the whistle.

Ivybridge U8s 3 tries

Tavistock U8s 5 tries

SOME superb team play saw great runs from Dominic, Tom and Michael and great defensive play from Charlie, William T-Y, James Y and Max. Tom raced through to score a hat-trick and Michael took two.

Ivybridge U8s 6 tries

Tavistock U8s 7 tries

THIS was a really great game of running rugby with end to end play. Tavistock put together some great passes, looking for the players who had space, not just passing when they were tagged. Joe and JJ worked well trying to break through the Ivybridge defence. Jack scored a hattrick of tries, Edward scored two and William A and Matthew took one each.

Ivybridge U8s 6 tries

Tavistock U8s 6 tries

IN this closely fought game the Tavistock boys worked well as a team. Some lovely tagging from Lewis and Gabriel and great supporting play from Austin, James C and George kept it even. Alastair scored two tries and George, Lewis, Austin and William S one apiece.

TAVISTOCK U7s saw a good turn out for their first game of the season with 22 players coming together to play Ivybridge away.

The squad played as four teams spread across two pitches to maximise playing time, which the players all utilised well with their sheer enthusiasm for the game. Both pitches ended in high scoring draws with some great individual and team tries being made.

All the teams worked well to hold their defensive line, squeezing the opposition into touch while also spotting the gaps when it came to attacking – a really promising start to the game.