South Molton U13s 5

Okehampton U13s 45

SOUTH Molton started with a kick straight to Okehampton who immediately knocked on; Oke were stronger in the scrum but it was won by South Molton and, after a few missed tackles, they weaved through for a try. Oke were penalised for a few knock ons and forward passes throughout the match.

When South Molton kicked Dan for Oke received the ball and passed to Lachs, who got charged into touch; Will B ripped and ran to keep the visitors driving. Josh picked from the scrum and passed to Saul and then to Shortie on the wing, who ran into the pack to ruck before the ball was passed back and forth across the pitch towards the tryline. A scrum followed, Josh passed out to Saul who paced into the corner to score. Ed was on good form today with his tackling and scored a great try.

South Molton kicked the ball straight out so a scrum followed; Oke won possession and Shea passed to Saul who put in a long run before being tackled. Adam caught a South Molton kick and ran, made a cheeky dummy pass before being tackled. A passing error by South Molton saw Oke pile on the pressure but they dropped the ball, allowing Lachs to pounce for a try.

Josh scooped the ball and ran before passing to Arion who was swiftly tackled. The end of the first half saw Dan charge through for a try.

In the second half Tom’s supportive play helped his team and he played his part in Dan’s next try. Alex caught a high ball and passed to Lachs, who pushed through to score. Oke kept drilling with Callum always a driving force and Will B scored. After a further period of play Oke were penalised prior to a scrum and sent back 10; this gave South Molton room to kick straight to Josh who passed to Alex for his try. A now uncontested scrum was awarded which Oke won.

All the Oke team were passing well and the final try was by Callum which signalled the end of the game.

Tavistock U12s 15

Tamar Saracens 10

A CLEAR sunny day met both teams as Tavistock played Tamar Saracens at Sandy Park. Tamar Saracens were large in number and size and the opening 10 minutes saw plenty of tackles being made by Tavistock just to stop Tamar from running through and dominating the game.

Tavistock stuck to their jobs and good rucking and strong runs by Ted Wilkinson, Sam Palmer, Will Garside saw them match the Saracens for guts and determination. The first period ended nil-nil but the second period saw the speed of Sam Perkins and Archie Davies take over and it was great work from Joel Blake and Archie Chalk who got the ball out to Sam Perkins and eventually Archie Davies who scored a fine try. Tavistock became more confident and some fine passing by Ben Richardson and Solley Hunter got the ball to Laird Whitford who scored.

Two tries up for Tavistock, going into the final period of play, but Tamar Saracens struck back with two quick ‘rumble tries’ using the size and strength of the back line to get them right back into the game and drawing the game level.

Tamar had the momentum, so it was great credit to the Tavistock team that they dug deep and went on to score the winning try by Sam Perkins after a number of great passes through ‘the Archies’ (Archie Wall, Archie Chalk and Archie Davies). For his extreme effort, team work and text book tackling skill, Laird Whitford was player of the match.

Oke U11s 12 tries

Bideford U11s 14

THE game got off to a good start with both sides attacking and defending equally until Bideford found Oke’s gaps and squeezed in a quick couple of tries.

Robbie showed his carrying skills for Oke with a 20 yard dash from his own five-yard line and Conlead stormed over the line but his try was disallowed due to an infringement in the ruck. Okehampton’s only try of the first quarter came from a turnover in the scrum and carried over the line by Xavier the machine. Score 1-4.

The second quarter saw both teams pick up the pace, which in turn forced Bideford into making a few handling errors and Amy was in her element with quick loose ball skills.

Okehampton fought hard to link their plays together and had a superb passage of play with all the players gelling together with finally Ollie slicing through the defence. Bideford piled on the pressure with simple tries before Roman bashed, skipped and dodged his way to the line. The last came from Xavier who went it alone for a quick try. Score 4-9

By the third quarter Oke were learning and bolstered their defence and capitalising on Bideford’s indecisiveness in tackling the larger forwards. Robbie, Roman, James and Will chased down Bideford’s winger like a pack of lions and flipped the player on the line which resulted in the ref disallowing the try. Quick thinking allowed Oke’s scrum to steal the ball, link 10 phases together, and charge the whole length of the field for Xavier to touch down. Score 6-12

The final quarter was definitely a treat for the Oke fans. Lucy tackled everything that moved; Xavier trampled Bideford’s defence to score two while Joe and Ollie had a phase of brilliance passing between themselves for 20 yards as the former steamied over the line.

Okehampton confidence grew and Lucy made a shoulder popping catch behind her head eventually leading to a try by James. Oke’s rucking was held firm by the forwards doubling up and Bideford struggling to see the ball. The visitors’ passing game was full width with no handling errors and James went down the touch line for his second. The final try came from Joe who sped over the line for his second.speeding over the line like a back for his second.

Bideford U9s 9 tries

Oke U9s A 17 tries

FROM the whistle all the Okehampton players were hot off the mark. Freddie scored the first try with his fast feet and spacial awareness find a gap to touch down.

Joseph and Charlie made great tackles while Oke never let up and always kept the pressure on. The tackling kept coming as did the tries. Samual L burst through the defensive line to make his try and a slalom dodge from Harry proved successful to add to the scores. Oke’s teamwork and greater possession of the ball left them 10-4 in tries up at half time. 

Oke made a strong start in the second half with Ben finding his speed and strength to push over the line. Charlie was always there to support the team and his solid tackling made him stand out. Freddie’s great footwork earned another try while Samuel L found space and the tries kept adding up. Captain Corey never gave up and his impressive run up the field gave Oke the room for Harry to make the final touch down.

Bideford U9s 4 tries

Oke U9s A 6 tries

BIDEFORD held better possession and maintained a strong defensive line.

However, Oke’s Freddie made a flying run for the first try. Oke then became more committed in the tackle and made some good passing. A high pass from a Bideford player saw Corey make an impressive flying jump to intercept the ball; Charlie took advantage and sped across the field to pass to Ben who found the strength to it was 3-3.

Oke worked hard in finishing tackles to slow Bideford’s progress. Harry made a zig zag run through there defensive line to score while good offloads gave Samuel L space to head straight to the line and Corey made a lovely tackle to bring his opponent to the ground. Okehampton showed outstanding teamwork today and deserved their win.

Bideford U9s 6 tries

Oke U9s B 6 tries

OKEHAMPTON started strong with a quick try from the whistle.  Myles made a confident run but was pushed out to touch; however, Oke kept going with their strong tackles by Archie D and captain Samuel Weldon. 

Bideford continued to use the touchline to gain turn over ball but a strong long run from Archie D from the half way line to score a second try.  The home side equalised within the next minute and were soon one try up.  Archie D then scored his second try.  Oke’s newest member Fred was keen to get the ball and drive forward into the Bideford half. Oke managed to pass the ball from Sam W to Fred then to Myles, who used his pace to run through Bideford defence and scored the third try as the visitors went into half-time up by three tries up to two.

In the second half Luke’s quick thinking and good run upset the opposition; Oke’s passing was excellent, through Sam W, Luke, Myles and Archie D leading to Archie P’ great run to touch down. 

Bideford bounced back with some good tackling and scored their third try. Oke responded with Archie P’s quick turn of speed dodge his way through the Bideford defence to score his second. Another try by Luke soon followed. In the final minutes aggressive tackling from Fred led to Myles scoring the equalising try in a close game.

Bideford U9s 9 tries

Oke U9s B 11 tries

ARCHIE D set the game off for Oke with a superb run, passing to Luke who scored Oke’s first try.  Bideford made some quick runs and despite some great tackles from Fred, scored a try. 

Samuel W soon put Oke back in the lead by super teamwork and passing through the field.  Joseph made a good run along the touch line and a quick pass to Myles resulted in another try, quickly followed with a try from Archie P.   

Great tackles were made by Joseph and Fred denying Bideford of scoring.  The teams were well and matched and despite Archie P, Samuel W and Myles adding to Oke’s score, Bideford were resolute and nearing the end of play the scores were level.  However, it was Okehampton who proved to be the more determined side as Archie D powered up the field with a superb run to score.  Bideford once again drew level but shortly after Myles collected a loose ball and with a clear field in front of him scored.   Keeping the pressure on Bideford, tackles came in from Joseph, Luke and Fred resulting in Samuel W scoring the final try of the match.