Okehampton U15s: 33

Newton Abbot U15s: 33

Having been on the receiving end of a comprehensive hammering at Newton Abbot last season, there was a certain level of pre-match apprehension amongst the Oke ranks last weekend.

However, a perfectly weighted opening kick from Joseph backed up with a fast chasing pack of forwards secured early turnover ball as Oke calmed any nerves with a dominant start.

The visitors found themselves scrambling to defend deep in their own territory as Oke racked up the phases, only some slippery hands prevented a couple of tries in the opening 10 minutes.

With confidence visibly growing, Oke’s pack drove the visitor’s scrum back five metres before Wilf picked up from the base and surged forward picking out Amos running the perfect diagonal line to open the scoring under the posts.

Oke added a second shortly after with Wilf again going from the back of the scrum only to be brought down illegally just short of the line. From the resulting penalty Dylan Shayler cleverly capitalised on Newton’s slow retreat to score an opportunist tap and go, with Euan slotting both conversions Oke were flying.

Collecting the ball deep in his own half from the restart, Joseph fired a long kick back to claim a 50/22 lineout as Oke refused to give the visitors a foothold in the match. Ryley’s accurate throw picked out Dylan Shayler who found Ethan running a powerful crash line. With Zak & Freddie rucking over hard, Newton somehow managed to turnover the ball inches from the line.

Their clearance box kick was gathered well by Harry who stopped the ball going dead and burst back through the line before finding Joseph on the loop who tipped the ball onto Wilf who ran over the final three defenders to score Oke’s third. As Euan again added the extras, Oke found themselves 21-0 up approaching half time.

Newton threatened to build some attacking pressure once they finally got the ball until a rib-busting tackle from Dylan Sullivan forced a knock-on which was snaffled by Zac who turned two defenders inside out as he powered forward. Stanley kept the ball moving down the line to Jacob on the wing who was unlucky not to add a fourth score being stopped just short of the whitewash.

The second half saw the visitors bring on ten new players as they emptied their extensive bench. The impact of fresh legs showed immediately, bringing a new intensity to their play.

Some clever chip kicks unpicked the Oke defence to get the visitors on the scoreboard. A second try swiftly followed as the visitor’s new route one tactic proved successful. Oke grabbed back the momentum with Ciaran running the ball from deep, scything through the tackles to get Oke back on the front foot. A weaving break from Euan took play over the halfway as Amos took up the charge, swerving round three players before pumping his legs to drag another pair with him over the 22.

Some high tackles from Newton set up another tap penalty for Wilf who fed Ethan who powered his way to five metres out before flipping the ball back to Wilf who crashed over to extend the lead. With the crowd urging them on, Oke kept up the pressure with more explosive runs from Dylan Sullivan and Zak punching holes in the defence and the home scrum continuing to dominate providing plenty of front-foot ball for the backs. Ciaran and Jacob worked all the running angles breaking tackles keeping Oke camped deep in Newton’s half.

Despite Oke’s dominance, a frenetic five minutes saw the visitors score three long-range breakaway tries with the luck of the bounce from a couple of fly hacks going Newton’s way. Having led for the entire match with five minutes left Oke suddenly found themselves seven points down.

Refusing to let their heads drop, Oke chased down the restart kick forcing a knock-on. With the clock ticking down, Wilf picked from the base of the scrum and charged down the blindside offloading the ball to Amos who sent the defence the wrong way to score a deserved try. Showing nerves of steel, Euan calmly slotted the conversion with the last kick of the match to seal the draw.