Devonport Services U16s 12

Tavistock U16s 30

TAVISTOCK U16s were given a stern test by a Services side fielding two Devon School's representatives playing as centres and for much of the first half Tavistock were on the back foot.

Devonport were strong at the breakdown and were unlucky a couple of times when the ball did not quite go to hand at vital moments. Tavistock held out with Steve Kirby and Theo Cousins tackling resolutely and as the half came towards an end Tavistock started to get their backline moving.

The quick feet of Ben Milligan and Chris Watts got the away side into their opponent's 22 and from the resulting scrum Billy Rowe powered over for his first try from the base. Tavistock kept the pressure on and following a loose kick from Devonport Billy McNicol pounced on the ball and side stepped his way past three defenders. The forwards recycled good ball for the backs to move to the right of the pitch with the excellent handling of winger Dan Willis keeping the ball alive and moving it back to the left. Number eight Billy Rowe picked up the ball in space and was not going to be stopped from adding his second try ten metres out.

Playing with the wind at their backs Tavistock started the second half with a bang with Steve Kirby running back the kick-off. Quick off loading and passing from forwards and backs freed Dan Willis on the right wing; he put in an audacious overhead pass which Bernie Sadler latched on to and raced away to score in the corner.

This was soon followed by another power play from Billy Rowe who brushed off defenders and completed his hat-trick. James Lewis ran strongly all game at outside centre consistently breaking the gain line. However, Devonport's heads never went down and midway through the second half Tavistock stuttered and lost a player to the sin bin. The home capitalised and scored two quick tries running strongly from deep on both occasions.

Tavistock, though, had their backline moving again. Billy McNicol sprinted clear from the left wing to score a well deserved try before Ben Milligan rounded off another fine piece of back play looping Dan Willis, who popped the ball up nicely for Milligan to latch on to and score Tavistock's sixth with the game's final play.

Bideford  U16s 7

Okehampton U16s 29

OKEHAMPTON travelled to Bideford expecting to face a stern test against a

much improved Bideford team, and so it proved this was the case.

The first half was fairly even and both teams had their chances, but strong defence from both teams kept the game scoreless at the end of the first half.

Bideford piled on the pressure at the start of the second half and kept Oke defending their line for the first five minutes and were unlucky not to score after being denied twice by being held up over the line. Oke managed to work their way out of danger through some great pick and goes from the forwards. Oke number eight Johnnie King crashed over in under the post to score the first try of the match after picking and going from the back of the scrum. James Bowden converted to give Oke some breathing space. Oke scored next to extend their lead to 12-0.

Bideford did not give up and scored next to make it 12-7 with 15 minutes left to play.

Okehampton upped their game and started to pile on the pressure and this led to Ryan Brock scoring his first try for the club and was converted by James Bowden.

Oke full back Dan Thorne got the next try after regaining the ball after a clever kick over the opposition to score under the post. The visitors scored again in the last play of the match.  

Okehampton U15s 12

Topsham U15s 39

OKEHAMPTON came up against Topsham in this cup tie, meeting for the second time this year, this was always a tough ask against one of the counties' strongest sides at this age group.

The home side looked rusty in a first half where they allowed the visitors to dominate. Although up the slope, the Oke boys will be disappointed that allowed the visitors to score five unanswered tries to lead 29-0 at the interval. Missed tackles and failure to find touch with clearance kicks were often the cause of Oke's downfall in the first 40.

Oke's second half showing was much improved as they managed to regain some pride to outscore the visitors. After conceding two more scores in the third quarter to trail 39-0, two late tries boosted the boys in maroon and amber as they finished the stronger.

First a strong run on the wing by prop Ethan Hoggins saw him offload to right winger Ben Mckenna- Smith, who ran strongly to score wide on the right. He added a well struck conversion.

Towards the end Oke centre Harry Cole forced his way over after a series of close range forward efforts had initially been thwarted.

There was no shame in this loss, but the Oke boys know they need to start better and the wins will return.

Kingsbridge U14s 15

Okehampton U14s 50

OKEHAMPTON U14s travelled to Teignmouth and delivered a solid performance to beat the South Devon side. 

There is still some room for improvement in certain departments, but the Oke boys played more expansive rugby during the game, as well as better off-loading and some fierce tackling. 

To Teignmouth's credit they did not let their heads drop despite the scoreline and remained competitive to the final whistle, with three fine tries of their own.  Overall, an enjoyable encounter played in good spirit.  Okehampton's scorers:  Mo Taylor, Tom Stevens, Noah Cracknell, George Dickinson and Jim Finley.

Teignmouth U13s 17

Okehampton U13s 26

OKEHAMPTON were slow to get going in the first ten minutes, which saw some loose rucking and not enough tackling of the legs, allowed Teignmouth to run the ball and gain good ground. 

Despite this, Okehampton showed great determination and, following a well placed kick through from halfway by James Close, Olly Northcott sped down the wing, secured the ball, with Greg Haste in support to clinch the first try.  Teignmouth were quick to reply with a well worked try of their own, which Okehampton answered with a break from Greg Haste, fast, clean ball out from the ensuing ruck by Joshua Burgoyne, to Barnaby Waddell, who powered through the middle of Teignmouth's defence to score. 

Again Teignmouth came back with another try to even things up.  Just before the half time whistle, Sonny Luxton, who had a good game in the pack, charged through from a ruck, gaining ground and splitting the opposition defence, to offload to the ever present support of Saul Holliday, to score a much deserved try.  Teignmouth crossed Oke's tryline again to leave them just two points behind, reflecting what a hard fought, exciting half it had been. 

The second half continued in the same vein, with a great display of rugby by both sides. 

Okehampton denied Teignmouth any more points in the game, coming close themselves on several occasions following explosive breaks by the forwards and well placed kicks pursued by the backs. 

Just before the fulltime whistle the game was sealed for Okehampton, when Joshua Burgoyne took a quick tap and go penalty, neatly dummied the Teignmouth defence, to score the final try of the match.  This was a truly entertaining game of rugby by both teams and Oke showed their grit and determination to win a tough battle.

Okehampton U12s 28

Teignmouth U12s 21

THIS was a hard fought match for Okehampton in which Teignmouth were quick out of the blocks; they broke through a disjointed Oke defensive line to score and early try.

A second try followed shortly afterwards but from this point on Okehampton seemed to spark into life and to show the same determination in defence as they did last week against Ivybridge. Okehampton started to win the rucks and mauls, and a well-worked Oke line-out pattern of play, with new player Brennon catching from hooker Tom, eventually saw scrum-half Edward Luke roll away to force his way over the line. Another new player, George quickly followed with another try showing some impressive acceleration through the Teignmouth defence.

The scrums were evenly balanced and credit should go to the Okehampton pack who battled hard.

Teignmouth struck next in the second half but Okehampton showed an impressive resilience and fought at every breakdown. The result was two tries for the determined and elusive full-back Theodore Jackson-Clyst late in the game, and a narrow but well-deserved victory for Okehampton.

Okehampton U12s 12

Ivybridge U12s 35

OKEHAMPTON with five new players in the team, performed superbly against a large, well organised Ivybridge squad.

The score did not reflect what was a competitive an enjoyable game of rugby. The first half was dominated by defence and both teams demonstrated superb tackling and rucking ability. Okehampton were first to score with Theodore Jackson-Clyst breaking a tackle and rolling off a defender to get over the try line. Ivybridge took the lead with two tries in quick succession. However, Oke showed real resolve and deservedly brought the try count equal just before half time with scrum half Edward Luke breaking from a ruck to drive through the defence and stretch for the try line just inside the corner.

The second half was similarly competitive, although the more clinical use of width by Ivybridge began to tire the Okehampton defence, and the half saw three similar tries scored by the Ivybridge wingers. Nevertheless Okehampton fought hard to the end with some superb tackling, epitomised by last ditch tackles from James and Thomas. Oke who showed real spirit.

Okehampton U10s 30

Teignmouth U10s 5

THE Okehampton side demonstrated comradeship throughout with a lot of good communication on the pitch which benefited them all. Oke kept the pressure on the visitors from the outset and a restart close to the tryline allowed Lachs through to score. Some great passing was seen, in particular between Lachs, Callum and Ed. Teignmouth produced a good, solid defence which was difficult to penetrate at times. A whole team contribution from Oke led to well finished try for Shea. Oke captain Adam scored one try and the first half was completed with a try in the corner for Flynn.

The second half started with Toby and Adam pressuring the visitors into touch. Adam scored two tries, one of which was a run almost from one end of the pitch to the other. Dan made a couple of breakthroughs while Ryan showed that he could tackle. Jacob made a slick offload to Ryan but he was pushed into touch close to the tryline.

Okehampton U10s 5

Teignmouth U10s 0

ALL players had made such an effort in the first match that the second match was at a slower pace. A maul towards the tryline produced a try for Lachs. Josh was ducking and diving through the opposition and Callum gave an all round polished performance.

Shortie was always there to catch the ball, but was often bought down too quickly. Shea was quick off the mark as scrum half. Some great tackles from Alex. Support was provided by Archie.

Okehampton U9s 29 tries

Teignmouth U9s 4 tries

ON a wet muddy pitch Okehampton welcomed Teignmouth to Oakland.

Oke started well with some good off loading in the tackle to move the ball wide into space for a couple of quick tries; they carried on in defence with good line speed to put the opposition on the back foot which ended with loose ball which was pounced on to lead to more tries.

With the boys swapping over they carried on as they ran, off loaded and supported each other to keep the score ticking over; even when they made a mistake they quickly put pressure on in defence to turn ball over.

Okehampton are growing as a team with each game, working hard for each other in both attack and defence.

Oke tries by Grady (7), Cameron (2), Jack (2), Max B (2), Tyler (2), Oliver (4), Max J (2), Billy (2), Cain (2) and first tries for Drew (2).

Okehampton U9s 18 tries

Kingsbridge U9s 6 tries

THIS was a great game of rugby from the boys with great attacking and defending from all not letting Kingsbridge any time on the ball.

Okehampton tries by Grady 7, Jack 2, Cain, Billy, Daniel 2, Oliver 4 and Harry.

Okehampton U9s 11 tries

Ivybridge U9s 11 tries

ANOTHER great display from the boys against a good Ivybridge side who came to put lots of pressure on but were tackled well and were made to make some mistakes which were turned into some good tries. The Oke boys worked hard to move the ball quicker in the tackle and creating more space to score.

Oke tries by Grady 3, Max B, Jack 2, Harry, Oliver, Thomas J, Daniel and and Billy. 

Tavistock U7s 9 tries

OPM U7s 9 tries

AFTER a quiet start from both teams the game saw some strong teamwork resulting in good defensive tagging.

In the first half Ben scored all of Tavistock's tries by weaving his way round the opposition and by supporting the strong runs of his team mates.  In the second half Matthew's tenacious tagging kept the scores level while Sebastian was a constant danger for the opposition.  Joel took advantage of confusion among the opposition to score a crucial levelling try.

Tavistock tries: Ben 4, Sebastian and Joel.

Tavistock U7s 10 tries

OPM U7s 9 tries

AN excitable and energetic game saw some strong individual runs and tries from Oliver S, Imogen and Isaac.  Alfie scored a superb opportunistic try for Tavistock.  Oliver had a great first ever game tagging everything in sight. However, it was Joshua and Elliot's linking runs that proved most productive with both boys making driving runs forward and looking for team mates in a space once tagged.  It is this team play that both Tavistock teams are beginning to bring to their game which is consistently resulting in tries.

Tavistock tries: Elliott 2, Joshua 3, Oliver 2, Imogen, Alfie and Isaac.