Exmouth U11s victorious in a long overdue match that was well worth the wait!

The sun shone and the ground was surprisingly good. In what turned out to be a cracking contest between two well matched teams, anyone expecting to see players out of practise and off form would have been disappointed
Sidmouth, fielding the strong squad we have come to expect, took the lead with an early try that was neatly converted. The Exmouth Young Cockles were quick to retaliate with a sprint over the try line and an equally deft conversion to equalize. The pace was fast and furious with attack and counter attack, and no let-up in the intensity of the attack or defence as bruised shins and bloodied noses gave evidence. The Cockles impressed with a strength in their assault not maintained so consistently before. The Away team showed equal tenacity in defence.
Going into the half time on two tries apiece, the second half promised to be equally exciting.
The game switched frequently between ground fought and won through sheer strength and will in driving malls, to fast paced open play where accurate passing and quick manoeuvres worked to outwit the opposition.
An early 7 points for the home team put them into the lead, but they were fully aware of the threat posed by their opponents who were quick to exploit any weakness in the line. A fourth try gave them the first real advantage, but all credit to the Sidmouth lads who found a gap in the defence to take a well-deserved concluding try 2 minutes before the final whistle.
Try scorers were Ieuan Brockway, Will Baker, Finn Musgrove and Liam Daniels off a storming charge by George Smale who drove it over the line, whilst conversions were made by Finn Musgrove, Harry Sale, Liam Daniels and Ieuan Brockway.
Man of the Match went to Keenan Palmer for consistently driving through the ranks of the Away team to make ground and for some impressive tackles. And Ben O’Neil was rewarded with the trophy for Outstanding Effort after running the entire length of the pitch to the roar of the home team to fall foul to a crunching tackle within reach of the try line! We look forward to seeing more of that show of speed in the future!

All in all a terrific match with a great result for the home team! Exmouth U11s 28 v Sidmouth 21
Our boys played some seriously quality rugby!