North/Okes U14s 21
Exeter Saracens U14s 17
IN a match played on a muddy North Tawton pitch in slippery conditions, Okehampton and Saracens played out an intense and highly skilled game of combative rugby.
Right from the off, the two evenly matched teams were playing great rugby. The game moved from end to end before Oke generated some pressure leading to a lineout just out side the Saracens' 22.
A well executed front move from a line-out saw Tom Pengelly and Charlie White combining to provide scrum half Ben Sharp with quick ball; two more quick passes left ended with Conner Stevens exploiting a gap and evading a couple of tackles to finish under the posts.
Saracens were twice held up just under the posts the ball was spun wide and they scored in the corner. A conversion from wide out tied the scores.
The rest of the game saw the two sides continue to exchange possession and territory, with only some great tackling from the Oke team stopping a number of break aways from the Saracens back division.
Oke's second try was created through some great work at the breakdown by Rhys Palmer and Will Bedford, a number of quick drives from the Oke pack took them towards the try line before Richie Hann was eventually carried over. Once again Saracens came back almost immediately to score a try in the corner.
Two further tries, one a great team effort from Okehampton, and the other a great solo break from Saracens ever dangerous right wing, set up a tense last five minutes with the game continuing to ebb and flow.
However there were no further scores, so at the final whistle the difference between the teams were the conversions - two by Lewis Taylor and one by Jack Davey. It was great reward for an all-round team performance by Okehampton.