Brixham U16s 7

Okehampton U16s 29

OKEHAMPTON started the second phase of their league campaign with a clear-cut victory in South Devon.

After a short break Oke returned to action in efficient style and gained a bonus point victory over a competitive Brixham outfit. The visitors started brightly on a sticky surface and were soon on the offensive. A well struck early penalty from out wide via the boot of Ben Mckenna-Smith gave Oke a deserved 3-0 lead.

Despite losing a player to the sin bin Oke continued to dominate, and it was no surprise when they scored a try with some superb team play after 17 minutes. Centre Harry Cole made the initial break through the middle. The ball was moved left where stand-in full back Kieran Coyle fed back inside to number eight Greg Daniel, who crossed after a trademark powerful sortie.

Oke managed one more score before the interval arrived. It was Harry Cole who once again showed great power and pace when given space up the left flank. He ran around behind the posts to give Ben Mckenna-Smith a routine conversion to make the score 15-0 at the half time break.

Oke spent long periods of the second half camped on the Brixham try line and were held up over the line on no less than four occasions. It was only a matter of time before they broke through however, and it was Harry Cole who struck again.

The centre took a direct line up the middle to take a couple of defenders with him as he crossed for his second try of the match. Ben once more hit the conversion.

The last try which secured a bonus point came in the final ten minutes. It was back rower Greg Daniel’s turn to plunder a brace, as he stormed up the short side for a fine score from a set scrum 20 metres out. Ben Mckenna-Smith continued his good form with the boot as he scored the extra two points.

There was still time for Brixham to be awarded a consolation penalty try right on the final whistle, but that didn’t have any impact on the match and Oke went home happy with a comfortable win on the road.

Okehampton U14s 17

Barnstaple U14s 7

THE Okes travelled to Barnstaple to play what they knew would be a tough, tight match.

Okehampton started well with good possession, but loose tackling saw Barum pick up quick ball from the scrum to score first under the posts against the run of play.  The Okes continued to create chances with the forwards working well, especially in the scrum. Charlie Glanville, Jack Rutley and Matthew Denning all worked hard around the pitch, tackling solidly and recycling the ball effectively. Barnstaple defended ferociously, putting Okehampton under pressure and causing handling errors and lost opportunities.

Just as half time approached, a quickly taken penalty fed out to Barnaby Waddell saw him power across the line to deservedly open the scoring for the young Okes. They kept up the momentum at the start of the second half, taking a quick penalty which was fed to Will Cunningham, who ran a good line to score under the posts.

Barnstaple continued to attack, but outstanding defending from Okehampton denied them any further points in the game. As full time loomed, a lovely break from Daniel Tomkins, playing his first game at full back, was offloaded crossfield to Saul Holliday who put in a powerful run to score and seal what was a very entertaining game of rugby.

Okehampton U11s 35

Barnstaple U11s 20

A WELL drilled team from Barnstaple visited with a large squad, providing plenty of game time for everyone.

Both teams showed determination in both attack and defence. Barum demonstrated great passing techniques which kept the home team on their toes. Will opened the play with a kick which was knocked on by the visitors. A couple of scrums later there was a break for the opening try from Barum.

Throughout the game there were some tough tackles for Josh which he didn’t shy away from. A little slow to start, Oke were soon back to their best making inroads to Barnstaple’s defensive line. Tries came from Lachs powering through and Saul thanks to his great speed. Teamwork and a held up ball stopped a Barnstaple try at the end of the first quarter.

Craddock again showed that he can duck and dive his way around the pitch. Will kicked to Saul for a try which showed good reading of the game. Shea was keeping pressure on around the scrums while Toby was often in the thick of the rucks with some big opposition players.

Alex showed spectacular catching, Ben had a high tackle count, while Ed isn’t one to give up easily.

Adam scored three tries and Callum provided a try-saving tackle plus some good powerful runs. Saul scored another try at the end of the game.

It was a tough game for both teams on wet ground, but a great performance from everyone and lots of muddy smiles at the end.

Okehampton U10s 1

Barnstaple U10s 3

OKEHAMPTON were visited by Barnstaple with a good turn out from both sides.

Initially Oke looked half asleep with Barnstaple starting very strongly in attack. The afternoon began with bitty exchanges with runs from Oliver and Billy and some great passing skills shown by Daniel, though they couldn’t get the ball over the line.

Some great tackling from Max B was not enough to stop three tries from Barnstaple, though Okehampton pulled a try back after an attack by Freddie led to Matthew driving the ball before passing to Billy who pounced over the line.

Okehampton U10s 2

Barnstaple U10s 6

In the second game there were some good runs from Jack T and Jack W, though as before Barnstaple thwarted every attempt to get the ball over the line.

Some quick attacking bursts from Barnstaple caught Okehampton napping and were punished by three consecutive tries.

The young Okes kept it together with some great tackles by Cain and Cameron W.

Jack W used his pace to pull a try back after the ball was passed straight from the scrum and he drove over. Barnstaple came back strong putting a further two tries down. With Lewis showing off his rucking skills Oke managed to get the ball out for Jack W to score his second. Barnstaple finished the match by scoring another.

Okehampton U10s 6

Barnstaple U10s 1

AFTER a half time break the Okes looked a different side altogether. There was some brilliant passing displayed by Daniel and Matthew.

The tries started coming thick and fast for the home team after Daniel crossed the line with the first. The boys really pulled together and there was some fantastic tackling by Billy and Max B. Matthew drove over to get try number two. The third came from Oliver who made a solo run down the wing.

Matthew then went on to get his second of the game. There was some quick passing from Billy from the scrum out to Max J who drove over for the fifth try.

With Shea making some darting runs to pass out, Max B got the sixth. Barnstaple did slip through the Oke defence at the end to get one back.

Okehampton U10s 3

Barnstaple U10s 0

Towards the end of the match Okehampton did not let the visitors through and used their strength and pace to push forward for Cameron S to level the score.

The whole team displayed some fantastic tackling skills, especially newcomer Cameron W who covered the width of the pitch at one stage to put the ball into touch and stop Barnstaple scoring.

Okehampton went on the attack again with Jack T slipping through Barnstaple’s defence to score and take us into the lead. With spirits high the Reds finished strongly with some more great passing for Jack W to get the third of the game. The hard fought match meant that Okehampton came out on top with an overall score of 12 tries to 10.

Okehampton U9s 15

Barnstaple U9s 16

ON a bright sunny morning Okehampton played a Barnstaple side at Taw Meadow.

Oke started off well, not letting Barnstaple gain any ground and putting in some good tackles. Some good turnovers led to a good team try finished off by Roman. Ollie put in a great run from his own line all the way to just short of Barnstaple’s where he ran out of steam but with great backup he off loaded for Hector to score.

Okehampton’s defence were much better at their line speed and were always pressuring the opposition to make mistakes. A good rotation of the players helped make the team fresh but Barnstaple’s bigger squad made some inroads in the third quarter to score some tries.

Jeremy had a good first game with some good tackles and was looking for the ball at scrum half. Hector and Phoebe made some great runs weaving in and out of the opposition to score.

Overall it was another solid performance with the squad getting better each week. With game time under their belts they will soon be picking up their first win.