Sidmouth Under-16s went down 24-14 on their visit to Crediton, writes Chris Woodruff

Following some scrappy opening exchanges Crediton managed to secure a penalty, but Sidmouth responded well with Harry Cockayne powering over and George Harris converting.

Referees are somewhat stricter as players age and Tom Woodruff ended up taking a yellow card for the team following a series of off-sides from Sidmouth.

The 14-man squad defended resolutely for the remainder of the half with much improved control and possession at the breakdown from an excellent forwards performance.

Sidmouth began the second half strongly, with Woodruff back on and making some cracking last-man tackles, Ethan Mead maintained his scoring form and Harris duly converted. A missed knock-on allowed a fortunate home try which lifted Crediton’s mood and tempo and two tries and conversions quickly followed.

The final score belies a closely run affair. Sidmouth can feel rightly proud of their individual and team performance especially considering the revised team order.

No doubt some will have left wishing lady luck been more in their favour.

They certainly left Crediton in no doubt that the return fixture will be equally challenging.