U10s - Devon Tour Report

Written by Damian Dixon

Tuesday, 21 April 2009

A large squad of 19 players, with assorted family members, descended on Devon at the weekend. The main group were based overlooking Teignmouth, and were soon settled in. Early progress was made on Friday night, as Mel won the bingo, the Sawyers the quiz, and Kirk was voted in as the new Shaldon Town Crier! On to the rugby. We arrived at Paignton on Saturday and selected a mixed team for our first fixture against the hosts - mainly because half of our party were lost in the one-way system! We started at a fast pace, scoring no less than 9 tries before half time! Both sides made 9 changes at half-time, and although Paignton ran in 7 tries in the elongated second half, OLs were never in danger and ended winners by 45 - 35. George Hawkes with a hat-trick led the scoring, with tries from Kyriakos Grammatopoulos (2), Josh Allen, Will Fawcett, Matthew Sawyer and Alex Smith. For the match against Gloucestershire side Dursley, both clubs put out their 'A' teams. A titanic battle ensued, with OLs drives being thwarted by a tenacious defence. Eventually, OLs dominance told and a victory was secured by 20 - 10. Two tries each for 'Krackers' and Josh Allen. For the third match, we re-played Dursley at Development level. This for many was the highlight of the weekend, as all the boys improved their performance, having learnt from the second half of the Paignton game what was required. With Kai Bailey and Ciaran Lavery in inspirational form, OLs won by 20 - 5. Both scored tries, as did Josh Blight and Will Southall. Many of the squad retired to the beach or the pool, whilst other took advantage of Devonian hospitality and watched Paignton 1st XV beat St Mary's of Bristol by 44 - 33. Sunday dawned after a late night with the squad in good heart, bolstered by the arrival of flyers James McSharry and Kieran Brophy. We travelled to Newton Abbot on a sweltering morning, to play the hosts and Totnes. Our first game against Abbot saw a conflict of styles; they attempted to use their size, whilst OLs spread the ball at every opportunity. On this occasion, speed won the day, as OLs won by 30 - 10, with a hat-trick for Kieran, and singles from Josh Allen, Alex and Ciaran. Our final match against Totnes, allowed OLs to dominate in all areas, although our opponents offered stiff resistance. Will Fawcett, pulling the strings at fly-half scored four tries, with others from James and George, as OLs eased to a 30 - 0 win. So a successful tour on and off the pitch, with all lads improving their game out of recognition. Here's to 2010!

 

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