Exeter Saracens, Sidmouth 15 The under-14s Devon Cup semi final is always a tough match and this was no exception, writes Pete Bond.

With excellent all round commitment being shown all over the park, the game was played in determined spirit on both sides.

Sidmouth started the stronger with dominant forward play from the outset. The scrum was solid and Sidmouth gave no quarter and after sustained pressure the ball was released to Wright who went over for the first try.

Some sterling work from the centre pairing of Allen and Counsell nullified the Sarries attack with some crunching tackling in midfield as well as well-timed breaches of the Saracen’s defence. After some tight passing and running involving both forwards and backs, Syradd used his considerable strength to touch down for Sidmouth’s second try.

The start of the second half saw Saracen’s back row try to come back into the game, principally through their strong number-eight.

However, excellent tackles all over the pitch, most notably from ‘Big Rory’ Morgan, snuffed out any chance of them getting on the scoreboard. Throughout the match Sidmouth’s scrum held firm and Davies provided excellent control behind the pack feeding the hungry back line with consistently accurate ball.

Smith made a blistering run up the right flank to set up an attacking position which, after more pressure from Sidmouth eventually led to Wright going over for his second.

This was a very good squad performance by Sidmouth and bearing in mind the atrocious weather which has put paid to most of this year’s matches, they looked and played like a seasoned unit.