9th April 2006
St Ives Under 12’s Tour to Torquay
18 players from St Ives under 12’s team enjoyed their first experience of a Rugby Tour to Torquay over the weekend. We had planned two days of games against Crediton, Exmouth and Devon county finalist Exeter Saracens.
Crediton 14 v St Ives 7
The first game was against Crediton, over an hours drive from Torquay, set in the beautiful Devon countryside. They breed there players big in Crediton and this was evident from the kick off when the first ruck had formed, St Ives were driven back easily and lost the ball on regular occasions. St Ives tackled bravely but the sheer size advantage was too much when Crediton ran straight through the defence to score their first try. St Ives battled bravely to keep the score to one try to nil by half time. In the second half St Ives continued to battle hard and made a number of good breaks, each and every player combining well to set up a try for James Hunter running onto a cross field kick. Crediton came back quickly with another try. Soon after this try the game was abandoned when a St Ives player landed hard on his hip and had to be taken to Hospital for a check up. He was released later with a badly bruised hip.
Exeter Saracens 7 v St Ives 14
On the Sunday we travelled to Exmouth determined to make amends for the following day. The first game was against the county finalist Exeter Saracens. The boys kicked off and gathered the ball cleanly straight away. The backs were used the ball well throughout combining well with the forwards, this eventually paid off with the first try of the game, St Ives were not put off by Exeter’s reputation and continued to push forward. In the second half a few changes were made but the performance continued. Exeter equalised early on in the second half but again St Ives were determined to win this game and they eventually scored with Dan Malem picking the up from a maul and driving the short distance over in the corner. St Ives went on to win 14 - 7. Tries scored by James Hunter and Dan Malem both tries converted by Jack Topham.
Exmouth 19 v St Ives 21
The last game of the tour turned out to be the hardest game yet, both teams evenly matched. St Ives showed their superiority in the pack and lineouts, dominating these areas. St Ives scored first from their own half following great passing from the backs to set up a maul right on Exmouths try line, Exmouth had left the blind side un marked allowing an easy touch down in the corner. Exmouth responded well to score just before the break to bring the score level. After the break both teams attacked well producing some brilliant interchanges of play between forwards and backs, these attacks were thwarted by some great defence play. Both St Ives and Exmouth were to score mid way through the second half, to leave the game on a knife. Exmouth took the lead intercepting a wild looping pass and running in un-opposed to score, the conversion was missed. St Ives battled right to the end and eventually scored in the final seconds of the game, the try was converted to secure the victory. Tries scored by Dan Malem x 2 and Alex Brown, Converted by Jack Topham x 3
St Ives produced their best performance of the season and were well received by all the teams they played. They were a credit to the club and county with their performance and behaviour. We look forward to next season when Exmouth and Exeter plan to visit Cambridgeshire.
Pictures:
1. St Ives players and support staff outside Crediton Rugby Football Club
2. Team Photo: St Ives in Blue Hoops with Exeter Saracens and Exmouth
3. St Ives players saying goodbye to Roger Shakespeare, lying down in middle.