Tavistock U13s 35

Plymstock U13s 10

THIS Sunday saw the first match of the season for Tavistock U13s. The weather was a typical Tavistock mist and drizzle but the boys were on excellent form.

The first ten minutes were evenly matched with end to end play from both teams, but Tavistock’s persistence eventually paid off with a try from Brandon, powering through Plymstock’s defensive line. A quick second try from Brandon followed.

As the game progressed, Tavistock’s confidence really started to show, as the boys started to gel and settle into their new 13-a-side formation. Christopher took a great catch at the half way line and ran in the ball for Tavistock’s third try before half time.

Cohen, Matthew and Jamie made strong debut appearances for the team, getting stuck in to the tackling and rucks.

Brandon brought home Tavistock’s fourth try shortly into the second half. The visitors fought back with some strong passing and tackling; however Tavistock dominated, with a fifth try coming from James.

Eventually Plymstock’s tenacity was rewarded with a try of their own.

Tavistock had noticeably improved their rucking in the second half and some great tackling was seen from both teams, however the home team sometimes found themselves going in too high on the tackle and conceding penalties.

A driving run from Josh, offloaded to James and onto Luke brought Tavistock their sixth try, followed by Brandon’s fourth try of the game.

Plymstock nicked another try before the final whistle but it was too late for a comeback and the Tavistock U13’s enjoyed their first well deserved win of the season.

Ivybridge U13s 5

Okehampton U13s 5

TRADITIONAL rugby weather of wind and rain met the team in a well matched and challenged game played in thirds.

Ivybridge opened with a kick into the Oke half which carried on to be an early try for the home side. There followed a game of mainly scrums and a lot of hard work for the forwards. With a majority of the scrums so close to the Ivybridge tryline, the defence commendably made it virtually impossible for Okehampton to penetrate. No matter which direction they tried, they were met with a steel wall.

The second third finally saw a try for Saul, after multiple scrums throughout. It was clear to see that players on both teams were frustrated by the lack of ground covered.

The final third saw a windswept and wet bunch of boys keep trying but met with stalemate.

This was a game with some missed opportunities for Okehampton, which if taken could have produced a different result.

Tavistock U12s 20

Plymstocks Oaks U12s 25

THE first game of the season for the Tavistock U12s was on a cold wet day at Sandy Park. Plymstock Oaks came with a strong squad and were eventual winners but Tavistock played well with Sam Boyle, Ben Richardson, Sam Perkins, Ben Madar, William White, and William Garside all putting in some great work.

Archie Davies scored two of the Tavistock tries, while Ted Wilkinson and Laird Whitford scored the other two tries. This was a solid performance by Tavistock at the early stage of the season. Joel Blake won the TREDS award this week for teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportmanship.

Plymstock Albion

Oaks U11s 2 tries

Tavistock U11s 4 tries

THIS was an excellent start to Tavistock U11s’ season with a great win on the road against a strong opposition.

Tavistock had a steady start to the game, but were having to defend in their own half against a powerful Oaks’ side. There was some strong rucking from William, Matthew and Edward and Tavistock did well to maintain possession. Some lovely passing between Ernie and Nathan popped the ball through to Finlay who twisted and turned through the opposition and burst across the line.

He was almost in again after picking up a dropped ball and racing half the length of the pitch, but was tackled right on the line. From the resulting scrum. William powered through to score the first of two tries for him in this game.

Excellent support work from Dylan and Alastair kept Tavistock gaining ground and some ferocious tackling from Dominic helped them retain possession against strong opposition, who pushed all the way.

Oscar and Bay, made their debuts for Tavistock and both put in strong performances, winning ball and making good tackles.

Great tackling came from Gabriel, Michael and George, keeping Tavistock strong and going forward. This was a great win for Tavistock against a big strong side.

Okehampton U10s 7 tries

Ivybridge U10 5 tries

OKEHAMPTON made a flying start to the new season with a hard fought, but ultimately comprehensive, victory over Ivybridge.

Despite the damp conditions, Oke showed superior ball handling skills and better teamwork to come out on top. Henry opened the scoring for Oke with a superb jinking run having been set on his way by a sharp pass from Dylan S. Henry followed up with a second almost instantly with a great solo run that split the Ivybridge defence.

Stung into action, Ivybridge came back hard but excellent tackling from Oke especially by Jacob kept the score down to a single try.

Both teams traded possession as they got to grips with rucks and mauls until Ivybridge finally fought through to score the equaliser. From the restart Oke quickly won a scrum and Ewan somehow superbly caught the resulting pass off his bootlaces before feeding Henry on the wing to bring up his hat-trick.

Powerful tackling from Lily and Mikey led to turnover ball which Dylan Shayler pounced upon and beat several defenders to score from midfield.

Wilf showed his strength to break through multiple tackles before offering up a beautiful offload to Toby, who showed exceptional speed to outpace the opposition to put Oke further ahead.

Ivybridge hit back instantly with two quick scores before Henry and Toby scored another try each to stretch the lead. To their credit Ivybridge kept attacking but Oke made intelligent use of the touchlines to keep the opposition away from their try line. A strong defensive line with some crunching tackles from Wilf and Isaac ensured that the Oke closed out the match to seal the win.

Okehampton U9s 2 tries

Ivybridge U9s 2 tries

Okehampton U9s 7 tries

Ivybridge U9s 9 tries

THE first game of the season was Okehampton at home to Ivybridge. Even though It was raining the children were excited and morale was high.

Dylan was appointed Oke captain and supported a great defensive line. Ivybridge took the first try of the game but Okehampton kept going with a superb amount of tackling and played at pace.

Samuel secured Oke’s first try when on the blow of the whistle he ran straight to the try line to go over. Myles consistently proved a solid player, making good speed across the field with some fantastic flying tackles and tries. Corey made a great supportive tackle bringing the Ivybridge player down and even made a great escape to also score his first try.

Freddie one of the newest members of the team secured many tackles and made a great start. There was also good support from Rafe, which resulted in a joint effort tackle bringing the Ivybridge player out of touch to secure the ball for Okehampton.