Outstnading game when Exmouth Under 11’s play away to the Exeter Saracens

Within a few minutes of kick off, the Saracens showed the young Cockles that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with by scoring a try which was quickly converted to see them lead 7-0. Exmouth held it together really well, especially in their rucking and mauling when under pressure, even when Saracens sneaked in another try to take them 14-0 ahead by half time.
A team talk at half time by coaches Craig Wilkins, Steve Philp, John Bryon and technical advisor Scott Hunter saw the under 11’s come back hard to show the Saracens that they were not going to go down without a fight. A series of great passing and tackles by all the players saw Ieuen Brockway carry the ball over the line to score Exmouth their first try, which was converted by Liam Daniels. The Saracens stepped up their play quickly and saw a young player run quickly down towards their try line only to be tackled by the formidable pack of the young cockles. The ball was quickly grabbed by Harry Sale and kicked down the pitch to within a few meters of the Exmouth line where Liam Daniels caught the ball to run over the line to score the next try for the under 11’s.
All the players showed real passion and the Saracens would have been a lot further ahead if it hadn’t have been for the dogged determination and defensive work of the Exmouth Under 11’s that resulted in a final score of 14 v 12 to the Home team.
All in all it was a fantastic game to watch with some brilliant play by all players which made the task of choosing the Man of the Match and Outstanding effort even harder for the coaches. However Ieuan Brockway became Man of the Match for continuing to play despite picking up an ankle injury and being fully involved in the tackles and rucking. The Outstanding effort award went to Ben O’Neil for his excellent passing, picking himself up and carrying on despite receiving several knocks and kicks.
Report by Helen Sale