CREDITON RUGBY CLUB

Devon U14 Cup Final

Crediton U14 10 - Ivybridge U14 14

AFTER the victorious exploits of the Colts and Under 16’s last weekend, the season was rounded off in style on May 1 with the Under 14’s and Under 15’s in their respective Youth Cup Finals.

For the Under 14’s it was a case of fine margins being the difference between winning and losing.

Most people would undoubtedly have made Ivybridge favourites to win this final but that would have been to ignore the resilience and quality of this very good Crediton side.

Whilst the weather was in complete contrast to the previous week, the quality and excitement produced by both teams was certainly not dampened.

Ivybridge looked the stronger side in the early stages, they had a couple of big powerful players who looked dangerous with ball in-hand.

However, the Crediton defence held firm with some fearless tackling.

However, it was a somewhat fortunate chain of events that provided the visitors with their opening try.

An Ivybridge clearance kick looked to have been covered but a wicked bounce took it away from the Crediton defender and despite his valiant attempts to regather the slippery ball, only succeeded it knocking it backwards and into the clutches of the Ivybridge winger who went in under the posts, the conversion gave them a seven point advantage.

Ivybridge doubled their lead with another converted try shortly before the interval.

The second half saw Crediton come back into the game.  We began to put pressure on the Ivybridge defence who proved really hard to break down.

However, that pressure brought rewards as the visitors began to concede penalties.

Ultimately, patience paid off and a well worked move saw Charlie Cookson cross over in the corner.

The difficult conversion fell short of its target. That was the signal for an all out attack and we began to make inroads.

There was a lengthy hold up when Sam Shepherd suffered a nasty rib injury but the resulting penalty was taken quickly and after several phases of play Ben Pulfer went over for the second score when he outpaced the Ivybridge defence.

The conversion attempt struck the post.

With time running out, Crediton threw everything into the attack but Ivybridge held out to the final whistle.

A tough and physical game between two sides who have proved they are the best in their age group in the County.

Devon Under 15 Plate Final

Crediton 7 - Torquay 0

Yet another close run battle with both sides giving their all and a result that could have gone either way.

Opening exchanges were dominated by Crediton but Torquay proved a difficult side to break down.

The game became a battle in midfield with neither side gaining the upper hand.

However, a period of pressure close to the Torquay line resulted in a driving maul ending with a try from Tom Ayre and a superb conversion from the touchline by George Baxter.

Both sides continued to try and get their backs moving and both sets of defences were quick to close down many promising moves and scoring opportunities were few and far between.

Nonetheless this was an entertaining game and both sides showed excellent skills and the Crediton lads thoroughly deserved their victory.

It has been a remarkable season for the Juniors with appearances in four finals and being victorious in three and only a very narrow defeat in the fourth. Next season promises to be even better.

Paul Harris