Hemmens try completes fine show from Sidmouth Under-9s

Sidmouth Under-9s entertained Cullompton at Sidford.

The Mid Devon side arrived low on numbers and were helped out by then home club with Bradley Horn slipping on a Cully jersey.

Despite their lack of numbers the visitors were no pushover in what was a very high scoring encounter. Sidmouth, with 14 players on duty and therefore able to rotate on a regular basis, had to work hard in defence right from the start to keep the opposition at bay.

There was some excellent tackling from Charlie Brock and Luca Manning, but with ball in hand Sidmouth were always a threat and were able to clock up the score with Ollie Marsh, Finn Cotton, William Pulman and Lucy Tanner all able to bag hat-tricks on the day, due in no small part to some fantastic off-loads from Cleo Turley, and some forceful running from Ned Coles and Zoe Allen, the latter back in the team after injury.

The final try of the day fell to Samuel Hemmens, making only his second start with a powerful individual run into the corner.

The final tally was 18-11in Sidmouths’ favour, but credit must go to Cullompton for not giving up and making it a thoroughly entertaining match.