Under 13s
Devon Cup Preliminary Round
CREDITON U13's travelled to Tavistock to play their Devon Cup preliminary round tie and came away with a resounding win and a personal triumph for winger Jack Zilch who scored five tries.
From the kick off everything went well for Crediton with a good take and drive by the forwards the ball was quickly sent out wide for Zilch to sprint in for a try from the halfway line.
This was the story of the half as the Crediton forwards provided good ball for the backline of Dan John, Ollie Avery – Wright, Matt Rendell and Andrew May.
They then ensured quick ball that produced some excellent finishing and five first half tries for Jack Zilch and a score line of 29 -0.
The second half saw a determined Tavistock side hold their own in the set pieces, but they could not match Crediton in the loose play, where the back row of Jamie Mckenzie, Will Goodman and George Blake was outstanding.
Five minutes into the half good interplay between the forwards and backs saw prop Dan Yendell take the ball over from 15 metres for his first try for the club.
The final score came from a five-metre scrum when Jamie Mckenzie picked up and drove and fed Alex Rodd who crashed over.
Tries: Jack Zilch (5) Dan Yendell & Alex Rodd. Conversions: Ollie Avery – Wright (3)
MG
Under 15's
Crediton 8 – Barnstaple 39
ON A glorious autumn day Kirton welcomed the visitors from Barnstaple.
Last season, Barnstaple crushed the home team at Barnstaple, but then members of both clubs teamed up successfully as North Devon for the Devon inter regional Festival at the end of last season.
The game started at great pace and again it was nice to see the home team firing on all cylinders from the first whistle.
The play was going from end to end, until mid way through the first half, when Edward Marshall cut loose again and scored in the corner – the conversion was not made.
More intense play followed for the rest of the half and then just before half time, Barnstaple broke away and crossed for a well deserved try – again not converted. Half time score was 5-5.
The second half kicked off after an extended water break due to the conditions and Barnstaple quickly scored a try under the posts from their Number 8.
Another two tries followed quickly – all three tries involving their Number 8 and their fly half, who are both Devon School of Rugby recruits.
Reeling from this onslaught in the first 10 minutes of the second half, Crediton regained their composure and after a period of sustained pressure Luke Styles landed a drop goal from in front of the posts.
However, Barnstaple were not finished and with the home team wilting, the visitors added another two tries and a penalty goal.
The score line was a little harsh on the home team who put up the best performance of the season to date and they should all be proud of their performances. Barnstaple after all were beaten finalists in last year's Devon Cup, at this age group.
The coaches found it impossible to determine an individual Man of the Match – it was on overall team effort!
Crediton 26– Saracens 24
After a fantastic first half the previous week, it was going to be interesting to see how the team responded to the challenge again this week and see if they could start off with a bang from the first whistle!
As it happened, they did just that and with only two minutes on the clock Edward Marshall stormed over for an unconverted try.
The match then became a bit more of a tussle with neither side seeming to be able to break the deadlock.
In the end, the visitors put together a nice passing sequence to score wide out on the wing with the conversion almost an impossible one at this age group.
Crediton then took over again putting together some great forwards moves which culminated in a second try for Edward Marshall on the stroke of half time. This time Luke Styles added the two points, which meant the score was 12-5 to Crediton at half time.
In the second half, it was Saracens who started the stronger and scored an unconverted try after seven minutes.
This seemed to sting the home team into action and Sam Walters scored almost immediately and then only three minutes later Edward Marshall completed his hat-trick. With both tries being converted, the score took on a different complexion with Kirton now 26-10 in the lead.
Into the last quarter and the visitors should have been dead and buried! However, with only 10 minutes to go, Saracens to their credit rallied and ran in their third try -this was followed by another try in the 27th minute.
Both tries were converted and the final score was 26-24.
For his overall performance and three tries, Edward Marshall was voted Man of the Match.
Crediton 24
South Molton 0
Autumn has well and truly arrived with the whole match being played in a light drizzle!
Crediton, playing against the elements and the pitch slope, were looking forward to this local derby and from the first whistle pressurised the opposition.
There were some great moves put together by the Crediton backline and it was not to be too long before a score was forthcoming.
The ball went all the way out to the wing and Mike Sanders scored after just six minutes.
The rest of the first half was rather a see-saw event but the home team went over again just minutes before half time, Zac Fox being the scorer. Luke Styles converted the try to make the score 12-0 at half time.
The home team were confident that they could turn the pressure up on the visitors but South Molton stuck to their task admirably and it was not until the 44th minute that Sam Walters picked up the ball from an uncontested scrum and ran a try in almost under the posts. Again Luke Styles added the conversion.
The game got a little feisty at this stage but after both sides were spoken to by the referee, they calmed down to play out the rest of the game.
South Molton never gave up and their Number 10 particularly had a great little game!
In the 55th minute, Jamie Whiting blasted over the line for an unconverted try. That's how the match ended – a convincing win for Crediton at 24-0.
For his all round effort in the second row, Dom Jones was voted Man of the Match.
DD
Under 16's
Exeter Saracens 21
Crediton 19
Saracens scraped a victory against Crediton in a tight game. Crediton made the early running, with Nick Moore-Goff scoring an early try and Gareth Dart adding a second, receiving the ball in his own half, beating two players before a kick-and-chase to the line. Josh Lee converted for a 12-0 lead.
However, Saracens fought back with two converted tries to lead 14-12 at half time.
Early in the second half, Stuart Parminter jinked his way through the Saracens backs, Lee again converting for a 19-14 lead.
Saracens levelled with a try in the corner and converted from the touchline to take the lead.
Somehow they hung on, as Crediton bombarded the Saracens line. The ball was held up behind the Saracens line and then in the final play, Rob Somerwill broke through the Saracens back, but was thwarted a few feet from the line - the ref ruling that he did not release the ball immediately on the ground- Saracens cleared the resulting penalty into touch as the final whistle blew.
RS